Dark Gossamer Wings
by koolkame
Summary: When a mission goes wrong, Will and the Guardians must confront the darkest parts of their souls or risk losing everything. Sometimes the hardest person to face is yourself...
1. Dark and Stormy

Disclaimer: W.I.T.C.H. is owned by Disney Enterprises, Inc. See them about making a line of Hay Lin goggles. The lyrics to "Devil Inside" were written and performed by Utada Hikaru and not the author and are used without permission but also without intention of profit.

Summary: When a mission goes wrong, Will and the Guardians must confront the darkest parts of their souls or risk losing everything. Sometimes the hardest person to face is yourself...

Author's Notes: This story is set between "The Underwater Mines" and "The Seal of Phobos." This is technically AU, but I'm purposefully trying to keep it in line with the series as much as possible. You may notice some odd references like Hay Lin's nonexistent goggles, Will's messy hair and maybe some other powers and characters not seen in the show but prevalent in the books and comics; those are there simply because they add something to the story or make for a line too amusing to cut. All are included with the idea that they could exist in the show but aren't seen or talked about.

I'll try to avoid any OOC if possible but this story is also a (like many if not all fanfics) character study. As such, my opinions and observations are how I believe the cast would behave in a more realistic slant. Your opinions may differ and that's okay; keep in mind that I don't hate any character or pairing. There will be zingers that seem out of place but when it's done you could fit it in the show and it would mesh fairly well.Language and angst are going to be present, as well as touchy feely stuff and slightly risque situations. Though I have a few lyrics in front of the story it is _not _a songfic.

Wow, if he's going on this long it must be good. I'll try not to let you down. Pull the curtains, Blunk!

_

* * *

Everybody wants me to be their angel _

_Everybody wants something they can cradle_

_They don't know I burn_

_Maybe there's a devil or something like it inside _

_Maybe there's a devil or something like it inside of me_

_Maybe there's a devil somewhere really deep inside me_

_Jealous angel deep inside of me_

"Devil Inside" by Utada Hikaru

Who in the world am I? Ah, that is that great puzzle. - Lewis Carroll

* * *

Chapter One: Dark and Stormy Soul

Everyone was shouting. She didn't know what about, but it might have been because the sky was on fire. Things like that tended to upset people.

Voices, young female voices, were bellowing battle cries. The loudest she connected with the fire somehow. The fire-voice was directly overhead amidst the flames, shouting a wordless yell directed at something behind them. She was sincerely glad she wasn't the fire-voice's target. Whoever she was, she sounded royally pissed.

The other female-voices were off to the sides, all around her except to her right which was dominated by a blue light visible out of the corner of her eye. Usually when one of the voices raised it was accompanied by a sound like the water roaring at the beach or the wind blowing like a hurricane. Beyond the girls' voices there were others that sounded less friendly: growling, snarling voices that sounded less than human but more than a pack of beasts. She felt very grateful for the female voices, especially when one loud bad-voice ordered the others to "Stop them, you fools!" That voice scared her more than the others did.

She became aware that she was being carried. Strong arms held her securely against a solid chest as whoever it was ran toward the blue light. When a sudden drop and impact rolled her head against said-chest where her half-slitted eyes saw the messy-haired yet handsome young man that was carrying her. His name came to her a few seconds later, like a barely remembered dream.

"Ca-leb..." Only a whisper, yet it took all her strength to say it.

He glanced at her, his features bathed in the blue light. The concern in his eyes and the heavenly blue-white glow made him even more attractive to her fogged mind and she was thrilled to realize she was the object of his attention. She briefly wondered if her hair looked alright and realized it probably didn't. She also realized she didn't remember what color it was. God, she hoped she actually _had _hair.

"Hang on, we're almost there!" he urged. She decided she could, and worked her mouth into a small smile. This didn't seem to reassure him. Instead, his pace picked up as the glow grew in intensity and masked his features. Past his shoulder she saw four young women in green and purple outfits flying over them, one of them carrying a small green monkey. The fire-voice was facing the way they had come, covering their escape with a wall of flames that kept the bad voices away.

"Thanks, T," she whispered, though in her state it sounded like "thantee." What the T stood for, she had no idea. The feeling that she should know bothered her a little; if she could see the fire-voice's face like she did with Caleb, surely she would remember who she was.

Her eyes shifted back to Caleb just as they hit the light. There was a cackle of electricity and then everything was gone... and then came back again, only _different_.

There had been another light before, pre-dawn sunlight that filtered through Caleb's hair. Now the sky was dark and raining fat water drops on her face. There was a flash of lightning and Caleb dropped to his knees; at first she thought he was hit but slowly realized he was just tired. She wasn't sure how long he'd been running, but it must have been quite a distance to exhaust the young warrior. Maybe she needed to go on a diet.

Caleb staggered to his feet and turned toward the light, which she now realized had brought them to this place of rain. She watched as the girls came through the light after them, the last being the fire-voice. She was a dark-skinned beauty with her hair done up in thick braids and intelligent-looking glasses. Small flames still covered her hands; though the girl looked like a fierce warrior she felt very safe knowing the fire-voice was near.

Taranee. That was it. _Thanks, Taranee_. She attempted to wave and found her arm was incredibly heavy. That was it. Diet time. Probably should do something about the selective amnesia, too. Might as well reinvent herself while she was at it. God knows she probably needed a new look.

She grunted (gurgled with attitude actually.) Whoever she was, she apparently had something of a perfectionist streak. Or extremely low self-esteem. As long as she had hair that Caleb liked, she felt she could deal with either.

"How close are they?" Caleb asked between breaths.

Taranee, hands still flaring, spun around to face the light. Though she couldn't see her face, her less-than-reliable mind told her that T was scowling at the light. "Not far; I torched the whole area around the portal. The Lurdens aren't coming through for sure, but Cedric..."

_Lurdens. Cedric_. The first word sent waves of revulsion through her while the second made her skin grow cold and her heart race. Unlike names conjured by faces, the words carried no mental images but struck upon her emotions like cold water on a deep wound. Suddenly aware that the bad voices could come through the light as well, she silently and desperately willed the light to just _go away_.

A pinkish glow surrounded her vision and the light shrank until it vanished with a small flash. Her gaze fell toward her chest where, the pink glow resolved itself into a pretty amulet around her neck. She noticed that she too wore one of the individualized uniforms and wondered why Caleb didn't have one.

She giggled madly at the image of Caleb in green and purple tights even as she blushed fiercely. Caleb seemed to know what she was thinking and looked at her in surprise. "Will?" he asked.

"Will" sent a shock of recognition into her. Struggling to remember her own appearance, she pictured herself as a tall, willowy young woman in the "uniform" she wore. This image didn't sit right with her as the real "Will," so she dug deeper and found a shorter girl without the curves and confidence who was clothed in an pink jacket and slouchy jeans. This "Will" disappointingly fit better and she willed herself to become "Will" and the other girls as their non-uniformed selves as well.

_Hey, if I can't look like a model_... she quipped to herself. Whatever a model was; she wasn't really sure of anything at the moment. The words came but the meaning was lost somewhere in her mind.

She looked up at Caleb, wondering if he would still carry her around now that she was shorter and flatter. When she saw him smiling at her in relief she gave a rather goofy grin back as the other girls entered her view. They weren't smiling and instead were looking at her as if she would faint at any second.

Which she did.

Far be it from her to disappoint.

* * *

"Is she okay?" Hay Lin asked urgently, Blunk still in her arms. Somehow the usually perky girl seemed to be able to stand the Passling's smell. It was likely the shock they were all feeling; if Blunk had been wrapped around her head she probably wouldn't have noticed. "Is she all alright?" she repeated when Caleb didn't reply. 

_No_, the rebel leader thought, _she isn't_. What he said was, "I'm not sure. We need to get her to the _Dragon_." Though his body was on the verge of collapse, the weight of the girl in his arms only served to strengthen him and his resolve to get her to safety. Not that she was particularly heavy to begin with; since transforming back her weight barely registered in his weakened arms. It was a disturbing feeling to be carrying a person usually so full of life who seemed to weigh less than a bag of grain.

Without a word the five youths began to run through the cold rain. Caleb was in the lead, the other girls keeping pace with him. Surely they could have passed him easily if they wished, he thought to himself; he was tired and pushing himself to his limit. He was certain they were running along side him so they could stay near Will. Caleb hoped the bond between the Guardians would keep their leader safe from whatever it was that had stricken her. He himself could carry her to the one person in this world they could turn to. Not to mention pray to the heavenly beings in Candracar to watch over their chosen. Not, he reflected bitterly, that they had been tonight.

It had been raining for hours since they had traveled through the portal to Meridian, and with Heatherfield never having much of a nightlife to begin with, the streets were practically deserted. Still, they stuck to the back alleys in case any well-meaning citizens tried to "help" them. As impressive as the medical arts were on Earth (Caleb particularly liked the Neo-Sporing that Cornelia applied to his cuts and scrapes), none of it would help the leader of the Guardians of the Veil.

He spared her a glance as he ran. Will was pale and soaked from the rain, so much so that she looked like a drowning victim. The only sign of her being alive was her short breaths against his neck. As he ran through the alleys to the Silver Dragon he counted the seconds between those breaths so closely that any deviation in the pattern caused shivers of alarm down his back. The feeling was not foreign to him.

One of the worst parts of war was carrying an injured ally. To hold your own life and the life of your enemy in your hands was one thing; to challenge the Reaper of Souls for a comrade's life was a battle he never wanted to fight. At least with physical wounds he could gauge how serious a person's condition was; with magic he had no idea if Will's condition was the equivalent of a flesh wound or a mortal injury. His gut said it was bad, and until he got her to Yan Lin that would have to do.

That Will was able to close the portal and change herself and the others out of Guardian form was a good sign, yet it may not have meant anything in the long run. Far too often, Caleb had seen men and women accomplish incredible things with their last breath. Collapse a tunnel, hold off a mob of soldiers, take a barrage of arrows and still keep fighting...

He mentally shook himself and refocused on the present. They rounded the corner of a building next to the restaurant and slid to a stop in front of the back door. Just as Irma was about to start pounding on the door it opened, her clenched fist stopping just inches from Yan Lin's nose.

"Mrs. Lin!" Irma shrieked. "I'm..."

"Hurry inside, everyone," the former Guardian said, her eyes landing on Will. Irma dove in first followed by Caleb and Will and then the rest of the Guardians. "Take her to the basement."

So intent on counting breaths, Caleb was barely aware of traveling through the kitchen and down the stairs to the basement with the girls and Yan Lin right behind him. The basement (jokingly called Caleb's Condo by Irma) was where he stayed while on Earth. Despite the name, the only sign of habitation was a small bed with a blanket and pillow set up under a window to the street above. Caleb crossed the basement and gently lay Will on the bed; as soon her head hit the pillow the full force of his exertion came over him and he stumbled backward into Taranee and Cornelia. Both girls caught him and directed him to a crate. Slipping out of his overcoat, Caleb watched as Yan Lin examined Will.

The other girls looked only slightly better than their leader simply by virtue of being conscious. Drenched from the rain and covered up to their knees in mud from the lot where the portal had deposited them, the four Guardians stared at Will as if losing sight of her would mean losing her for good. Hay Lin had set Blunk down on the stairs and was standing next to her grandmother, hugging herself and probably freezing in her mini-skirt. Irma and Taranee were sitting on a crate next to his, Irma's arm held comfortingly around the other girl's shoulders. Cornelia stood next to him, her fists clenched with anger.

He wasn't sure who she was mad at; it may have been Will for getting hurt, Cedric and Phobos for putting Will in this state, or even him for causing all this in the first place. Most likely, she was blaming herself for not being the one who was injured. Cornelia Hale was the epitome of "tough love," even if she wouldn't admit it.

His eyes locked with her's; she immediately looked away but not before Caleb saw the tears being held back. He wanted to stand up and take her in his arms, to assure her that everything was going to be alright. He couldn't, though; she was angry with him, too much to take comfort in his embrace. He could not even reassure her because he, leader of the rebellion, was too pragmatic to lie about Will's chances when he wasn't sure what was wrong with her.

_Damn it all to the Hells! _

Caleb slammed his fist into the crate, startling everyone but Yan Lin and Will. The former Guardian did not take her eyes off her patient as she rebuked the rebel. "Breaking your hand will not help Will to recover, Caleb. I'm sure she appreciates the thought, of course."

Yan Lin's sarcasm broke Caleb's last shred of restraint. "It should have been me! Will knew something was wrong and tried to..."

He was interrupted by Cornelia's hand slapping his mouth closed. The stinging on his face was enough to stop him from talking; the look in Cornelia's eyes made him want to hide behind the crate. "Hay Lin's parents are right upstairs, genius!" she hissed. Her hand dropped away. "No one's saying you wanted this to happen; this isn't your fault. It's _their_ fault."

"Yeah, the snake hit her with that... thing," Irma said. She now had both arms around Taranee, the shy girl's head on her shoulder. "If it had been you Caleb, without the Heart, you might've..." she trailed off.

Caleb lowered his head. It was true, all of it. The facts were there and indisputable, yet even indomitable reality has little effect on the heart. His own kept accusing him, presenting his desire to defeat Phobos as proof that he was responsible for nearly killing a young girl. A Guardian of the Veil and a woman in many ways, but still a child as well. Had she been a peasant trying to join the rebels, he would have turned her down due to her age and inexperience.

And here he had dragged her-all of them-into a trap. Though they may argue otherwise, he felt that the Guardians were under his protection in Meridian and therefore he was responsible for them like his own troops. The guilt of an injured subordinate was not foreign to him; it was as familiar as his own face in the mirror. And he dealt with it like he always had: he kept fighting.

Straightening up, Caleb stood and addressed Yan Lin. "So, what can we do?"

The effect was subtle but powerful. Cornelia smiled at him, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. Irma let out a breath, relieved to see Mr. Rebel was back in the saddle. Taranee grinned at no one in particular. Hay Lin practically doubled in size with delight. Even Blunk seemed uplifted.

Yan Lin stood and gazed at something beyond the brick wall of the basement. "Nothing, I'm afraid."

Caleb's jaw dropped. Her tone had been conversational as she told them that they was nothing they could do to help their leader and comrade. Cornelia's response was more vocal. "WHAT? WHAT DO Y..."

Caleb covered her mouth with his grimy hand before she could finish her sentence. The other Guardians and Blunk made _sshhhh_-ing noises at her as Yan Lin continued. "The only thing we can do now is let her rest, my young friends. She is in a deep sleep and her breathing has steadied."

A collective sigh of relief filled Caleb's Condo as everyone looked at the leader of the Guardians. Will's expression was one of sheer contentment as if she were sleeping in her room at home instead of the basement of a Chinese restaurant. Caleb felt the weight that had been wearing him down lift; it was a feeling that was far too rare in his life. The guilt wasn't completely gone but for now he could think clearly.

Cornelia was the first to break the spell when she realized Caleb's muddy glove was covering her mouth. She yanked it off with a grimace as Caleb looked over at her. His expression changed slightly and he looked away sharply. Cornelia frowned at this; usually guys were looking _at _her. "What?"

It started as a snort from Hay Lin. Then Taranee picked it up and then Yan Lin until everyone except Caleb and Cornelia was shaking with quiet laughter. Even Will was smiling slightly, as if she could sense that something amusing was happening next to her. And no one was looking directly at Cornelia.

Cornelia growled. "What? What are you laughing at?" Pulling out the compact she always carried out of her jacket, Cornelia flipped it open and tilted it to show her lower face.

It looked like she had tried to eat a mud pie; her lip-glossed mouth was ringed with mud and leaves. She gasped in shock and glared at Caleb, whose ears were turning red underneath his long hair. The others only increased their guffaws, pent-up worry and frustration transforming into giggle-fits.

Everyone was laughing so hard at the two lovebirds that no one was looking at Will. For an instant her face twisted as if she was having a nightmare, then returned to normal.

When it came to the Guardians of the Veil, "normal" was a relative term at best.

* * *

After Cornelia had cleaned off her face (and gave Caleb a swift kick in the leg), preparations were made for the girls to spend the night at the Silver Dragon. The storm outside had actually increased in intensity since the girls arrived and provided an excellent excuse for worried parents. In a serious case of "TGIF," the next day was Saturday and the girls were spared the rigor of actually going to class after an emotionally charged evening. The anonymity of the Guardian's duties made getting signed excuses from battling evil difficult. 

The team went to work right away, both eager to do something after the events of the evening and feeling like dropping where they stood. Cornelia had been nominated to call Will's mother and think up a suitable excuse as to why her daughter couldn't come to the phone. Irma and Taranee were in Hay Lin's room trying to clear a spot on the floor for sleeping bags, Irma sarcastically asking if they could light a brush fire to aid in the task.

Caleb and Blunk had been forcibly removed from the basement so the Lin women could dress Will in drier clothes; Caleb had started mopping up the mud they had tracked in while Blunk had took off saying "_Me get something for Will get better_." Caleb hoped that whatever it was wasn't alive or had _previously_ been alive; dead rats weren't the best gifts to give an ailing friend. Unless you were a Passling, maybe.

He and Cornelia were alone in the kitchen when she finished her call to the Vandom residence. Mrs. Vandom had been insistent that she could drive over and pick up her daughter, but Cornelia had convinced her that a trip to the _Dragon_ would be too risky in the heavy rain and that her daughter would be just as safe with the Lins.

To hear the Earth Guardian converse in such confident tones would have made a stranger think she was talking to someone her own age instead of the adult mother of one of her best friends. Caleb was constantly impressed with how she handled herself in almost any situation with the dignity and willfulness of a noblewoman. Well, except for when they broke into the underwater mines... though she did cling tightly to him through the whole ordeal, so who was he to complain? Caleb hid a slight smile as she glanced at her, an act that was all too easy considering his dour mood.

Cornelia flicked her phone closed and shook her head. "I never knew I was such a good liar until I became a Guardian. Even I believed it when I said Will conked out doing her math homework."

Caleb was reminded of her telling Elyon that his father was a crusading dentist as an excuse for his employment at the _Silver Dragon_; it had seemed like a good excuse until Hay Lin told him what a dentist actually was. Still, he held his peace as he took in every detail of the Earth Guardian. Perched up on the edge of a table so Caleb could mop under her feet and muddy from the knees down, Cornelia didn't resemble the self-confident young woman he knew she was. Even in her disheveled state Caleb could have stared at her for hours, or at least until she threatened to kick him again.

Realizing his gaze was drifting to the front of her dampened tank top, Caleb coughed and said, "She always says that math's not her favorite subject; I never understood why you put letters and numbers together anyway. Complicates things."

"Amen." The rain was the only sound for a moment, before being being broken up by distant thunder and an inevitable question. "Caleb, what happened? After you three left?"

Caleb dropped the mop in the bucket and stretched. His arms and legs were still sore and would probably be bothering him tomorrow. No matter; he'd had worse. Still, he plopped down on a stool next to Cornelia before answering. "Cedric happened. We were almost to the main chamber when a pack of Lurdens appeared. Will... told me to keep going." His face darkened. "I almost had the artifact when Cedric slammed me into the floor. Must have been a secret passage I didn't see. He grabbed the Shard of Inimini and was going to use it on me when..."

_He had never seen the snake so happy, his impossibly huge maw grinning from pointy ear to ear. The Shard was held in his claw like a dagger, the sharpened tip of the black crystal gleaming in the low light of the chamber. _

_His legs pinned between the monster's tail and the Shard's pedestal, Caleb could only scowl at his potential murderer. The Guardians were nowhere in sight and the ornate yet bare chamber offered nothing he could defend himself with. Death was all but assured; he was afraid but more than fear he felt anger that his death wouldn't cause Phobos more trouble than it would. He hoped his father wouldn't act hastily to the news. He hoped Cornelia really thought he was an idiot and wouldn't mourn his loss. Mainly, he hoped the bastard would get on with it. _

_Cedric seemed to read his expression. "This is not the end, rebel," the beast hissed. "This is the beginning."_

_It seemed odd that Cedric would reassure him of an afterlife. As far as he knew neither the reptile nor Phobos were especially religious because most faiths would have condemned them to the lowest hells for their crimes. As the Shard descended in slow motion, Caleb wondered if he would see his mother soon._

_"NO!"_

_A flash of violet flew toward the Shard from overhead. Will had meant to grab Cedric's arm and use her magically augmented strength to wrest it away from its target. Startled, Cedric instinctively altered his attack to meet the new threat. Helpless, Caleb shouted for her to stop but was too late._

_When the Shard_ _struck her breastbone he had expected the point to pierce her small frame and cover him in innocent blood. However, Will seemed to absorb the Shard into herself, her reddish-brown eyes staring into the snake's reptilian_ _slits with disbelief, like Cedric had spilled a drink on her instead of stabbing her. Cedric was as shocked as she was and could only stare back. When he recovered, Caleb was surprised to hear him snarl "No, not you!" as if murdering a Guardian was a bad thing._

_Will didn't respond right away. When she did, it was with a whimper that grew into a unnaturally high-pitched scream that made Caleb's head ache. The black light of the Shard began to glow blood-red before dissolving in a massive explosion that sent Will and Cedric flying to opposite ends of the chamber. Will fell limply to the ground behind him, the Heart of Candracar glowing faintly around her neck; Cedric smashed into the far wall and through it, leaving a massive hole that vaguely bore his outline. The only thing visible was his ringed tail, which twitched once and was still. _

_Freed, Caleb glanced at the hole before running over to Will. He checked her pulse and found it weak but steady. Lifting the young Guardian gently but quickly, he turned and found Irma hovering in the entrance, her face frozen in shock. Without a word, Caleb ran under her and toward the sounds of howling winds and landslides. _

_This was _not_ going according to plan. _

He had been relieved to feel her breath on his face; even if she had been dead he still would have taken her body away from Phobos' hordes. Resistance fighters killed in battle had been dragged through the streets as examples to those who might rebel against Meridian's ruler. He didn't want to think about what they would do with the remains of a Guardian.

Cornelia was silent. Caleb couldn't begin to guess what she was thinking; she and the other Guardians were hard to predict. She might put her arms around him; she might start yelling at him. The women in Meridian were much safer by comparison, but certainly not as... interesting.

When she finally spoke, her voice was thankfully sympathetic. "That must have been awful, not being able to do anything." She slipped her arm through his, her fingertips stroking the back of his hand. Her touch eased away his aches and made him want to lay his head in her lap and fall asleep. No other girl had ever had that effect on him and he wasn't even sure she realized her power over him.

Caleb was no stranger to women. The leader of the rebellion had quite the well-earned reputation when it came to romancing young ladies. One of Phobos' more laughable fabrications was that Caleb liked to ravish the young daughters (and even wives) of Phobos' loyal supporters. Caleb had long since stopped taking offense at the outlandish claims of Phobos' propaganda; anyone dumb enough to believe the lies of a king that raped his own land's life force to increase his power was not someone Caleb needed or wanted to associate with. And if he needed something from them, he could always use force.

Like any effective lie, though, there was a bit of truth in the accusation. When every day could be your last it was best to enjoy every second you could, whether it was the one good meal you'd had in weeks or the company of a governor's beautiful daughter. Good food wasn't such a luxury anymore now that he spent half of his time on Earth; Caleb had actually gained weight from Mrs. Lin's cooking. As much as Earth confused him with its strange ways and customs it was a veritable land of plenty compared to Meridian. As he'd told Aldarn, the food was incredible and the girls even better.

"Better" meaning, in heterosexual male terminology, that they wore fewer clothes. Shorts, mini-skirts, halter-tops... compared to the long dresses and concealing blouses he was used to it seemed like the whole planet was one big red-light district, especially during the summer months. He never told the girls this, of course. The last thing he wanted them to think was that he thought they looked like ladies of the evening. His mission helped him stay focused, thankfully, though it was hard not to notice the scenery.

Lately, though, Caleb's eye hadn't wandered too far. His father had told him it would happen one day, but he had scoffed and said that it wasn't possible for any woman in Meridian to tame him.

Irony, it seemed, was a sharp-tongued, fashion-conscious blonde from another dimension.

Between his exhausted body and the warmth generated by Cornelia's touch, Caleb felt like falling asleep right where he sat. Without thinking he placed his head on Cornelia's shoulder, breathing in her scent of pine needles and wild flowers. The rain had washed away most of her lemon-scented perfume and revealed her natural aroma, which Caleb preferred by far to the ointments so popular on Earth. He was a little surprised when she placed her head on his, but her next words sent rivers of shock running through him. "Every one of us would have taken her place. Even me."

Caleb wasn't sure how to respond; fortunately, he didn't have to as Hay Lin came stomping up the cellar steps with Will's muddy clothes in a waist basket. Her weary face brightened when she caught sight of the two teens. "Awwww...," she cooed. "Stay... right... there! Let me get a camera!"

Cornelia scoffed haughtily at the suggestion that they would pose for the photo. "As if," she said, lifting her head from Caleb's. He was pleased to note that her arm stayed where it was. "How's Will?"

Hay Lin shrugged. "Grandma says she's fine. Physically, anyway. I mean, that's good enough for me because it's Grandma, but... she hasn't woke up yet. I mean, she doesn't respond when I say her name but she's not like those people that are in a coma on TV, she's breathing real heavy and tossing in her sleep and... I'm babbling, aren't I..." Cornelia smiled and nodded tolerantly. "I'm sorry. It's just so weird, you know? We undressed her and dried her off and everything and she didn't even seem to _feel_ it."

Caleb listened intently despite the distraction that Cornelia presented. Though Hay Lin's report had been a little long-winded it was still full of vital information. He quickly surmised that Will was in a deep sleep but didn't seem to be comatose; she was oblivious to the outside world but still responsive to whatever was in her mind. Which meant that _Will _was still in there. He hoped that meant something. Caleb resolved to question Yan Lin personally at the first opportunity.

Caleb yawned, the action causing his lmbs to ache even more. _Damn_, he thought. _I'd better ask her now before I collapse_. "Is it okay if I go talk to your grandmother now? I have some questions."

Hay Lin nodded. "Sure. Will's all covered up. I gave her one of my night shirts. I don't think blue's her color, though. She always struck me as more of an autumn..." She trailed off when she noticed Cornelia's arched eyebrows. "Right. I'll take these to the laundry room."

When she was gone, Cornelia looked over at Caleb. "What sort of questions? Did you think of something?"

Caleb was about to respond when Irma and Taranee walked into the kitchen, both of them looking fairly winded. "Man," Irma said. "That girl's room could hide five Cedrics and a car. And probably a Vathek. Uh, are we interrupting something?" From the way Irma was smirking at their intertwined arms, the question was purely rhetorical.

Cornelia narrowed her eyes at her longtime headache. Irma had on an oblivious look that seemed slightly out-of-place on her face; out-of-place meaning "false." Caleb grinned and gave Cornelia's hand one last squeeze before letting go.

Taranee either ignored the brewing storm or didn't see it coming. "Is Will doing any better? I heard Hay Lin in here."

Distracted, Cornelia filled the two girls in on the situation with their leader. When she finished, Irma looked at Caleb. "Is that what Mr. Scaley wanted to do to you, Caleb, knock you out so he could deliver you to Phobos?"

Caleb shook his head. "I don't think so. Something that Cedric said... I don't think the beast wanted to kill me with the Shard, either. There are easier ways to do both. I think that whatever was supposed to happen to me wasn't what happened to Will. The snake seemed upset after he attacked her, like the Shard was intended for me alone. In any other situation, a Guardian would be a better catch, especially the carrier of the Heart."

"So, if he didn't want to capture you or, you know," Taranee asked, grimacing at was left unsaid. "What was the point of the whole thing? If the Shard wasn't a magical WMD then what was it?"

"I don't know," Caleb admitted. He also wasn't sure what a WMD was. "I have to get into the castle. That's our only lead right now."

"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way," Irma mused. "My dad says that the first step in solving a crime is finding motive. 'Figure out why something was done and it's easier to figure out who dunnit,' that's what he says. Huh. Maybe that's why he always knows it's me that uses up all the hot water."

"And your point is?" Cornelia asked irritably.

"Sorry. Thing is, we already know who it was, with what, and where." Irma had to fight from making a Clue reference here. Cornelia was fairly torqued at her already and it was way too late for a cat-fight. "So we go backward. The question is, if Cedric didn't want to do A or B, then what's C?"

Caleb nodded. "Great thinking, Irma. If he didn't want to capture or kill me with the Shard, what else would Phobos want done to me? I remember seeing the Heart flash when Will was struck, so if it had been me..."

"Torture?" Taranee said without thinking. Cornelia winced and Irma whistled at the shy girl's casual tone. "Oh, I'm sorry! It was the first thing that came to mind!"

Caleb waved her concerns off. "I was thinking the same thing, Taranee. That would explain what Cedric meant when he said it was just the beginning."

Irma's eyes widened. "Yeah, I heard him say that! I was just outside the chamber with Will when I heard that raspy voice of his. I was flooding out some Lurdens when Will flew off to help you... oh, no." Her eyes widened even more as her light brown complexion paled. "I should have been the one. I could have blasted that snake away without getting close..."

"No!" Caleb said fiercely. "Don't start blaming yourself. Every battle makes more sense after it's over. When you're in the middle of it you do what your instincts tell you to. You were the best choice to guard our backs; Will couldn't have held back the Lurdens and they might have broke through. Besides, this was _my _plan. If anyone's getting the blame it's me."

The three girls were staring at him like he'd grown an extra head and it looked like Blunk. Again Caleb cursed the fact that the Earth girls were so hard to read; he wasn't sure if they disagreed with him and felt that it wasn't his fault, or that they did agree with him and just realized that it _was_ his fault. The idea of them blaming him hurt more than he thought it would. Hay Lin had returned during his outburst and stood frozen in the doorway, as if walking into the room would cause an explosion. At least he knew what she would believe, even if it was wrong.

"I thought we established that it was Phobos' fault, rebel boy," said a voice from the basement door. Yan Lin stood there with an amused expression on her face. "Seriously, Caleb, do you brood like this because you thinks clicks dig it? In my day we liked our men to have a little more sunshine and less rain in their souls."

Hay Lin chuckled. "That's 'chicks', Grandma. And what about that James Dean poster you still have in your room? He wasn't exactly sunny."

This got a few laughs from the other girls. Yan Lin sniffed. "Hmmph. That's not the point. I simply wish for you all to keep your spirits up. Will is alive and in good health; her chi has been disrupted but she is named well. Her spirit is strong and I expect her to make a full recovery. I am more concerned with you lot at the moment, especially you, Caleb. Your heart and body have taken some severe beatings lately; even the leader of the rebellion needs his rest."

Caleb was conflicted. The concern in Yan Lin's voice was both appreciated and annoying. Before the events of tonight Caleb had been running missions every day this week. With Elyon now in Phobos' hands, the underground was working twice as hard to overthrow her brother. Caleb could count the hours of sleep he gotten over the past four days on one hand and the strain was catching up to him.

As true as it was, though, he didn't want to be reminded about it in front of the girls. Despite their odd behavior, they were intelligent and capable in ways he never would have thought possible when he first met them. Their respect meant more than he would have liked to admit and showing weakness in front of them was not something he particularly wanted.

It might not matter if he desired it or not; even now Cornelia was searching his face out of the corners of her eyes, no doubt noticing the dark circles under his own. Another thing about Earth women he needed to tell Aldarn: they were either completely oblivious or way too observant. The Guardians and Yan Lin fell into the latter category, for better or worse.

"I'm fine," he insisted. It sounded weak even to him, but he had to say something in his defense.

"Maybe when you're facing certain death you're good," Irma said. "But not right now you're not. Much as I hate to go "Mom" on ya, how much sleep have you been getting?"

"Enough," Caleb responded in the authoritative voice he used when addressing his troops. The effect was lost on Irma; a policeman's daughter knew plenty about the chain of command and the only C.O. she reported to was sleeping on the job. Caleb had as much power over her as she did over fire; probably less, considering that Irma could put fires out and Caleb had no chance of stopping her with his lame excuses.

If Cornelia Hale was Tough Love, Irma Lair held the rank of Corporal Punishment. "I'll bet. News-flash, Caleb: you're not invincible. Eventually you're going to make real mistakes, and then you're gonna wish the Evil Suitcase finished you off because that would be cake compared to what _we'll_ do to you." Cornelia nodded, for once agreeing with Irma.

While Caleb wasn't too afraid of what Taranee or Hay Lin could do in the way of torture, Irma and Cornelia were something else. Considering their talents, it would likely involve near-drowning, sharp rocks and possibly poison oak in sensitive areas. Probably poison oak, knowing Cornelia. He (silently) admitted defeat and rose from his stool. He took a few steps toward the basement before he remembered that his place of rest was occupied. "Uh..."

Perhaps because the _Silver Dragon_ was her home, Hay Lin realized his problem first. "You can have one of the sleeping bags and Irma can sleep with me. There's air mattresses in the basement we use for camping you can have; it'd probably be best if someone stayed with Will anyway. I'll go blow it up." With that, she bounced down the basement steps.

"Oh, man," Irma groaned. "If there's one thing I learned from all those sleep overs is that she kicks like Mia Hamm."

Caleb smirked. "Hey, I thought you wanted me to get a good night's sleep."

"I just hope she doesn't drool anymore."

Yan Lin coughed. Irma shot her a questioning look, but the elderly woman spoke to Caleb first. "Caleb, please help my granddaughter with your sleeping arrangements. I'll bring you your clothes and the sleeping bag. That should keep you away from Hay Lin's room while the girls change. Avoid the temptation, as you kids say." The girls giggled at the insinuation, which is exactly what Yan Lin intended.

Caleb rolled his eyes and departed for the basement, slowly due to his weariness. Irma waited until Caleb was out of earshot before turning to Yan Lin. "He's running on fumes, isn't he?"

Cornelia looked at Irma with no small amount of surprise. There was no trace of sarcasm in her voice for once; rather, there was genuine concern for their reluctant friend.

Yan Lin nodded. "He blames himself for losing Elyon to Phobos. He was already giving everything he had to the rebellion and now he seeks to give what he does not possess."

"Do you think, maybe..." Taranee started. She seemed unwilling to finish her thought.

"That he made mistakes tonight?" Irma finished for her. Cornelia bristled and was about to rip the smart-mouth a new orifice when she shook her head. "No, he didn't. We were with him every step of the way and not once did I say to myself, 'Oh, this is a trap.' The setup was too good. Even at one hundred percent Caleb would have the done the exact same thing. We all would have. Besides, Caleb's not the kind that makes little mistakes then burns out; he's the kind of guy that works fine until he finally crashes. My dad's old partner was the same way, according to him. Guy would practically kill himself once he got on something, and Caleb's been on _his_ thing his whole life."

Cornelia couldn't believe that this was the same person that made fun of her designer clothes; Irma's assessment was dead on. Cornelia remembered Caleb running with them through the rain. Exhausted and carrying Will, he still set the pace for the group and probably didn't realize it. Caleb would run his body to pieces while his mind stayed sharp and alert. _Well, sharp for Caleb... he is a guy after all._

"Will will need several days to recover from her ordeal," Yan Lin said. "Since you will not be at full strength until then, it would be best for you girls _and_ Caleb to rest for a bit. I will also need the time to assess any side effects of Will's condition. When Blunk returns tell him not to seek out any portals for Caleb until Will is strong again. Threaten him with a run through the carwash if you have to. Understood?"

The girls nodded. Cornelia sighed as she realized something. "What about Caleb? He's going to want to find out what the Shard was supposed to do."

"That is the trick. I'm afraid that we may have to play dirty with Rebel Boy."

"We're gonna run him through the carwash with Blunk?" Irma joked. Cornelia actually grinned as she pictured Caleb and Blunk going through the carwash in a shopping cart. It was the only way they could get the Passling to bathe.

"No. Maybe. What I meant was that someone has to stay with Will until she recovers. An Astral Drop can take her place at school and home while Caleb and I care for the real Will. I do not wish to do it, but I may have to play on Caleb's guilt to force him to stay. Perhaps tending Will will ease his soul and allow him some peace. The Oracle knows he has had so little in his life."

_I could give him peace_, Cornelia thought. She wanted to help him, _needed_ to help him. Plus, the idea of Caleb devoting any attention to a girl other than herself was definitely in the "not alright" category, even if it was an unconscious Will.

She mentally shook her head. Now was hardly the time for that kind of thinking. Will may have saved Caleb from a fate worse than death tonight; whatever their issues (and there were many, or maybe just one) Cornelia owed her that and more for being her friend. Still, the image of Caleb holding Will's hand even to check her pulse was too much to process.

Part of Cornelia wondered why she would even worry about Will in the first place. For one thing, Caleb wasn't technically hers yet. The two had strong wills and were dancing the old dance of courtship, waiting to see who would give in first; it may be a while before either submitted or they reached an agreement. Even if he was hers and she had to pick someone that would try to steal Caleb, it definitely wasn't the Frog Fanatic or any of the other Guardians. Will was crushing on Matt Olsen still and Taranee was pursuing the Outfielder Nigel Ashcroft. Hay Lin... no.

Irma might have the guts to do it, but Cornelia had yet to see any indication that she held any interest for Caleb other than staring at his butt when he bent over. Besides, they were her friends and knew without her saying that she felt strongly about Caleb. They had certainly teased her enough about it. Why should she be worried? She was probably just being possessive. It was one of her worst traits when it came to the people in her life. It was the main reason why she couldn't stand her sister, always playing sweet and innocent to reel in their parents. Well, besides the fact that Lilian was a monster from the underworld.

"Let's get changed. Like I've said before, mud is never in style," Cornelia said to the others. She had hoped to bait Irma into a sarcastic reply to distract her from her confused thoughts but was disappointed when the class clown merely nodded and led the way to Hay Lin's room. _Great, Irma, the one time I need you to be yourself you grow up on me. Thanks a lot._

Irma must have heard her telepathically or been distracted earlier. "You know you can make anything look good, Cornelia. Have you considered wet cement for a swimsuit? You'd be the life of the party. For a while, anyway."

Irma was a little surprised when Cornelia grabbed her from behind in a fierce hug and whispered, "Only if you'd wear a muzzle that matched your eyes." After all, Cornelia Hale wasn't the huggy sort

* * *

Time is often the best indicator of the strength of a relationship. Though Irma considered all of the Guardians to be her sisters-in-arms second and best friends first, Hay Lin had been with her since the beginning. Cornelia had run in different circles than Irma pretty much all her life and Will and Taranee were new if welcome additions to the crew. Hay Lin, though, had been a constant fixture in her existence for almost as long as she could remember. 

When the two had first met Irma had barely been able to write her own name, yet Hay Lin had written hers in English and Chinese and drew a small self-portrait during art time. Irma had been so impressed that she had asked the hyperactive artist to draw her picture. Hay Lin had been thrilled to be asked, and by the end of art time they were "friends forever." Irma still had the picture Hay Lin drew of them in a frame on her wall.

Ten years later Hay Lin knew Irma better than anyone, including Irma herself. Irma, however, still had no idea what made Hay Lin tick. As she stared at the girl's room, the self-taught comedian wondered if she ever would.

A pair of boxer shorts hung from an engine nacelle on a replica of the Starship _Enterprise_. Magazines ranging from _Cosmopolitan _to _Star Wars Insider_ lay scattered on the floor. Various plushies and knick-knacks of green aliens (practically Hay Lin's mascot) were strung around the room; even Hay Lin's jacket had a small alien sewn on a sleeve beneath an official Sheffield Institute patch. Drawings of people including the Guardians in their transformed states covered Hay Lin's desk and furniture. One could pick a spot on the floor and within two feet find a pair of goggles that Hay Lin wore despite not being involved in any sports or pastime that required eye protection, unless one counted Guardian duties as extracurricular activities.

_The girl is insane_, Irma mused expertly. _Must be why we get along so well_. Irma had given the sleeping bag to Yan Lin a moment before and was now tasked with retrieving sleepwear for the girls. _Mission: Impossible for anybody who hasn't known Hay Lin as long as I have._

Cornelia sniffed, as if the messy room somehow offended her sense of smell. "It's a miracle she hasn't slipped on something and broke her neck."

"Years of practice, I guess," Irma replied as she picked her way to Hay Lin's closet, the _M:I _theme playing in her head. Making sure she was to the side of the door when she opened it, Irma remained unfazed when an avalanche of clothes and toys fell out of the closet. Taranee and Cornelia watched in amazement as Irma climbed over the pile of clothes and dug around in the closet for nearly a minute before pulling out three long night shirts, each with a Disney character emblazoned on the front.

Tossing the Pluto one on the bed and the other two to Taranee and Cornelia, she bent down in front of the pile and pushed it back into the closet. After closing the door (with considerable effort), Irma once again picked her way to the bed and began to undress.

"Does the closet always do that?" Taranee asked innocently as she removed her glasses. Minnie Mouse seemed appropriate for the sweet girl.

"Far back as I can remember," Irma stated. "First time Hay Lin asked me to get a jacket for her, I ended up buried alive. She freaked out a little." Irma smiled as she recalled the panicked expression on Hay Lin's seven year-old face. _I'm okay, I'm okay, _Irma had reassured her friend even as her face was being strained through a tennis racquet.

"Would it kill her to clean?" Cornelia huffed, as she tossed her muddy jeans into a laundry basket. Donald Duck was perfect for the perky-one-minute-and-fire-breathing-the-next Ms. Hale.

"Oh, she cleans pretty regularly. In two days it's back to the way it was. She told me once it was good exercise." When they had undressed and changed, Cornelia and Taranee collapsed onto the sleeping bags while Irma crawled into Hay Lin's bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow Irma realized just how tired she was; her concern for Will had kept her from noticing. Gazing over the edge of the bed at her friends, she noticed that Taranee was already breathing evenly and Cornelia was staring at the ceiling through slitted eyes. "Good night, guys."

"Good night, Irma, Taranee," Cornelia said, breathing the words out with some effort. Taranee murmured something unintelligible.

Irma smirked. "Good night, John Boy."

Cornelia gave a good-natured groan. "You're impossible."

* * *

There were serious advantages to being the Air Guardian. For one thing, you never needed an air pump. 

Technically, you _were_ the air pump.

Holding the air plug in her teeth, Hay Lin breathed in through her nostrils and exhaled a blast of air into the queen-sized air mattress. The mattress went from a wrinkled sheet of rubber to fully-blown up in less than a second, not unlike a cartoon Hay Lin had once seen. Any one watching would have thought that some sort of trick was involved for a pre-teen girl that weighed under a hundred pounds to inflate something that was longer than she was tall.

Sealing the mattress tight, Hay Lin looked over at Will. She was resting comfortably now that she was dressed for bed and wrapped in Caleb's covers. The Heart of Candracar hung from a nail on the wall where Caleb usually lay his overcoat, its soft light illuminating Will's face.

The artist known as Hay Lin had always found Will aesthetically pleasing. Short red hair mixed well with cappuccino-colored skin and was so rare that Hay Lin had never seen another person that resembled Will Vandom. The fact that her hair rarely stayed in one place was okay with Hay Lin, who valued the natural over the proper. Will, surprisingly, was extremely self-conscious about her appearance; most girls and a fair amount of guys their age were to be true, but Hay Lin suspected that sometime in Will's past her unusual appearance had caused fellow classmates to make fun of her. The only thing she had going for this theory was something Will had said shortly after they met.

Hay Lin had nearly died with excitement when she first saw Will. An ardent people-watcher, Hay Lin was always on the lookout for unusual characteristics. She had almost whipped out her pen and pad right then and there. Instead, she had complimented Will on her hair and skin colors. Will's reaction to the unusual praise had been wary as she thanked Hay Lin, who may have come on a little strong in retrospect. "Retrospect" being ten seconds after she first freaked out over the new girl.

Hay Lin had tried to counter her earlier outburst by saying that Will must have gotten a lot of compliments like that. She had gotten a faraway look in her brown eyes and shook her head. "No, not really," There had been pain in her voice when she said it, hidden under a small laugh.

Hay Lin bent down next to Will and swept stray crimson hairs out of the sleeping girl's face. Why anyone wouldn't love the way Will looked was beyond her. Most likely it was some sort of evil Cornelia that used her popularity and looks to push people down instead of lifting them up, even just figuratively, to her level. Well, whatever had happened in the past was history now; if any drama queen tried to use Will as a stepping stone they would have W.I.T.C.H. to deal with. Well, I.T.C.H., anyway. Will rarely took up for herself, though she sure turned into a fighter when a girl tried to move in on her "man."

_I.T.C.H.. Heh. And speaking of her boo..._

"And you know who _really _likes the way your hair and skin mix, Will?" Hay Lin asked her, as if her thoughts in her head had been part of a talk they were having with each other. "Matt. Musicians always have an eye for the special. Every time he thinks he can get away with it he always looks at you like you're some sort of celebrity. I swear, if you two don't hook up soon I may have to step in and..."

The sound of footsteps on the stairs broke Hay Lin from her one-sided conversation. Caleb slowly descended the steps and made so little noise that it seemed like he was trying not to wake Will. This struck Hay Lin as odd since waking up Will was exactly what they wanted. When Caleb's face came into view she realized he wasn't trying to be stealthy; he was simply too tired to move any faster. When he reached the bottom of the stairs and looked at Hay Lin, she had a strange flashback to a zombie movie she'd seen last summer.

"Something wrong?" Caleb asked. That warm voice certainly didn't sound like it came from a flesh-eating zombie. The look he gave Will through bloodshot eyes certainly wasn't one that hungered for human brains.

"Uh, no! Nothing! I got the mattress ready for you; I'll go get some sheets."

"No need." Caleb picked up one of the pillows Yan Lin had set aside for him and tossed it on the mattress. "It's too hot, anyway." A pause. "Thanks for getting the mattress."

"No problem." Other than Cornelia, Hay Lin wasn't sure what the other Guardians thought about Caleb exactly. Any questions about the subject were usually met with rolled eyes and complaints. Sure, he was cute, and braver than any guy in Sheffield and probably on Earth as well but he was also stubborn and more than a little condescending. As galling as he could be to the Guardians, Hay Lin could only imagine how frustrated he was by them. In Meridian he was a general with over a thousand troops that obeyed his every order without question.

Suddenly, a group of prophesied heroes appear on the scene and instead of wise and powerful warriors you get a bunch of teenage girls that can't even control their powers. And not only were they inexperienced, they refused to listen to your advice and for some reason think that they know more than you do about fighting a tyrannical despot. Forget frustration; Caleb probably had stomach ulcers the first few weeks after he met them.

Eventually Caleb and the Guardians had settled into a comfortable give-and-take chain of command that worked because both parties knew that there were times when one had to shut up and trust the other. Cornelia was infatuated with him, obviously, and the Guardians as a whole liked him as one liked a friend that you were wary about introducing to your other friends, if only because one never knew what he was going to say or do. Overall, Will, Irma, and Taranee's opinions about Caleb could be summed up in eight words and a comma: "I like him, but I wouldn't date him."

Hay Lin wouldn't date him either, but her reasons were different and had nothing to do with dealing with Caleb's attitude. Or her father freaking out over an older boy, for that matter. Actually, she thought of Caleb as somewhere between a foreign exchange student and a foster brother. In a way, he was the closest thing she had ever had to a sibling, even compared to Irma. He lived with her, ate dinner with her and puzzled over her homework with her; Mrs. Lin was enamored with him for sure, treating him like one of the family.

And the feeling was mutual, she was sure; once he'd carried Hay Lin up to her bed when she'd fell asleep while studying. She knew this because she'd woken up halfway to her room and felt Caleb tuck her in. She'd also stifled a giggle when he stubbed his toe on something on her floor and learned a Meridian swear word for her effort.

While she would never want a younger sibling after hearing Cornelia and Irma's horror stories, Taranee had regaled her with tales of her older brother teaching her to surf and introducing her to his cool friends like she was the greatest thing ever just because she was his little sister. Hay Lin knew not every family was like that, but it didn't stop her from daydreaming. Even with his faults, Caleb was a bonafide hero and pretty cool and could even be sweet at times; definitely big brother material. As such, Hay Lin felt that she had a responsibility as a sort-of little sister to look after him since Caleb seemed to neglect the little things from time to time. Like regular meals. And sleep. And bathing.

When Caleb was on this side of the Veil he usually stayed with the Lins. Hay Lin's parents knew that Caleb stayed over some nights but Yan Lin explained this away by saying that Caleb had several jobs around the Heatherfield area to support his great aunt (twice removed) who happened to live in a nearby town. This aunt also happened to be an old friend of hers that Hay Lin had never met, but was apparently someone of such high standing character that her parents accepted Caleb without question. It helped that Caleb was very polite to her parents at least; his rather gruff manners were supposedly a product of his less-than-perfect home life.

Ironically, Caleb's back story was that his mother had died and his father was in jail. It wasn't until Caleb discovered that his father was alive that the fabrication happened to be true. Well, more or less; Julian was a pretty nice guy and not the kind of man you'd think would be in prison, Hay Lin thought, though he could use a haircut. And maybe a George Washington-style outfit. Hay Lin resolved to sketch this down later.

Yan Lin's word was law at the Silver Dragon; once she vouched for Caleb that was it. Chen Lin was a glorified mama's boy when it came down to it and Hay Lin's mother Joan loved her mother-in-law like she was her own flesh-and-blood. It didn't hurt that for her over-protective father that Hay Lin now had an escort that her grandmother trusted implicitly.

Caleb could be every bit as dangerous as he looked and Hay Lin had a sneaking suspicion that many potential flirters were scared away from W.I.T.C.H. by the fear of accidentally hitting on Caleb's girlfriend or, Hay Lin thought scandalously, girlfriends (hee!). Of course, if things kept developing with him and Cornelia it would soon be pretty clear who was Caleb's girl.

_Hey_, she pondered, _if he and Cornelia get married, would that make us sort-of sister-in-laws?_ _That's way too many dashes_.

Her musings of strange relations were interrupted by Yan Lin coming down the stairs with the sleeping bag, Caleb's Earth clothes and a pair of sleep pants. "Here you go, Caleb. I pressed them just the way you like them."

"Uh, thank you, Mrs. Lin." Hay Lin noticed that Caleb looked surprised that Grandma knew how he liked the feel of ironed clothes. He had never said as much, but Yan Lin was a grandmother after all.

"Are you sure you don't want some sheets, Caleb?" Hay Lin asked, seizing the chance for some Grandma back-up. "It can get cold down here when it rains and those sleeping bags are pretty thin." She winked at her grandmother, code for _Caleb's being stubborn again_.

Mrs. Lin nodded, tossing a return wink at Hay Lin. _Loud and clear_. "Please retrieve some sheets, Hay Lin, and a quilt for Will. Mighty Rebel Leader here would catch his death of cold just to look tough in front of girls."

Caleb crossed his arms and glared weakly at Hay Lin, who giggled as she ran up the stairs to the laundry room. As Grandma always said, the Lin women had to look after their men. Whether they wanted them to or not.

* * *

Yan Lin smiled benignly at the glowering young man standing across from her. He was nothing like her own son had been, yet she had claimed him as her own from the first day the girls brought him to Earth. It didn't hurt that she saw herself in him sometimes, particularly when he was being stubborn. 

Though Hay Lin resembled her as young girl and probably would grow to look as her grandmother had throughout her life, the young Yan Lin had not been as light-hearted and playful as her granddaughter. Tolerance was not in abundance in those days and a Chinese girl in a mostly white neighborhood had to prove herself in ways that most of her peers never had to. Words were powerful and harsh words as hard as stones, whether whispered or shouted. Pain and anger had nearly overwhelmed her and some days she felt that she was as black in the heart as others had claimed she was, if only because she was _different. _As if that made her more prone to the faults all people possessed.

Thankfully, she had not been alone long. She had never seen the girl she ran into, her eyes so full of tears from the unfairness of the world. A crash and a spill on the sidewalk later she was being picked up by warm hands and asked if she was alright. This was her first real friend with whom she had spent the whole afternoon with laughing and seeing Heatherfield with new, open eyes. Other friends had come with her, and soon there were five of them. As the kids said, the rest was history. Sometimes painful history, but she regretted little of it.

Yan Lin had thought being a Guardian was the most difficult and rewarding thing she would do in her life. Than she met a handsome young man with a strange sense of humor and married him, bore his child, and realized that motherhood made being a Guardian seem "easy-peezy" as her granddaughter put it. She had started her own restaurant and raised a good man who had met a wonderful girl, who in turn had given her a granddaughter that lifted her spirits whenever she entered the room. She had a long and fulfilling life of her own and now she was the new Guardians' mentor, or "den grandma" as Irma put it. Not bad for a little China girl that didn't fit in.

As much as she loved the girls, her current position as their guide was not always an ideal one. Being a Guardian was one thing since you took the risks yourself; mentoring the Guardians of the Veil was harder on the heart by far. The duty of the Guardians was necessary, _vital_ for the survival of Earth and countless other worlds that would be consumed by Phobos' greed. The danger was acceptable; the stress and storms placed on such young shoulders had to be given to someone. This generation was, naturally, well-suited for the task and she had the utmost confidence in them. This did not make it any easier to send them into danger and hardship.

She looked past Caleb to where Will slept fitfully. Had it been Hay Lin lying there, she did not know if it would hurt more than it did. She had taken in all the girls that day when she had told them of their destiny. She saw a little of herself in all of them as well; Cornelia's stubbornness, Irma's wit, Taranee's shyness, Hay Lin's features, and Will's burden. Yes, she knew what Will felt, having seen it in another girl's face long ago; the pride at being chosen to hold the Heart, the uncertainty in one's self, the weight of being responsible for the lives of her friends, and the fear.

The fear that the Heart could be wrong. Someone who had their world turned upside down like Will had very little faith in anything being completely right. Especially herself, the chosen one who had to lead a group of girls she had known for less than a year against a powerful evil that seemed to possess every advantage in this war..

And the toll it took showed, if only to eyes that were old and experienced. Often she wanted to take Will in her arms and tell her that she would take care of everything and not to worry herself. She couldn't, though, not without scaring the child even more. She gave advice and comfort when needed, but to do any more would have undermined the girls' confidence if they thought she was hovering over them like most adults were prone to do. The future was fluid and inconsistent; Yan Lin might be around for a hundred years, or a week. As such, she had to let them make their own decisions and mistakes, no matter the outcome. The crisis on whether to inform Elyon of her heritage was perhaps the costliest error they had made: in trying to keep her safe and happy Will had not realized that much more than just one girl's peace of mind was at stake.

Just as not knowing about the threat from Meridian didn't make the rest of the world any safer from Phobos, Elyon's ignorance had made her even more vulnerable to the designs of her brother. Yan Lin could have told this to the girls before but chose to keep her peace in the hopes that they would come to see that Elyon could no more run from her destiny than the Guardians themselves. The alternative was unthinkable; a selfish and cruel tyrant that would devour the life force of worlds unopposed. To stop him, the young and innocent had to suffer in place of countless others.

There were times the black dragon that had died in her heart stirred to life and wanted to burn Phobos to ashes for what he had done. Not to mention for what he planned to do. And then she would look at her granddaughter's face and the serpent would be swept away with golden light.

Her mind drifted back to the present. Caleb was standing there looking like a major dip was on his shoulder. Or was that clip? "Do you have to do that?" he asked.

"Do what? Keep you from freezing?"

"Making me look like a weakling. I've slept in rainstorms like the one outside, you know. Soundly. And yet you all treat me like a fool that doesn't know his own limits."

Yan Lin shook her head. "Oh, Caleb, I know you are aware of how much you can take; I also know that you are strong and wise beyond your years. And the girls know it, too. The problem is, as strong as your body and as intelligent as your mind is there is a greater power that neither can stand against."

Caleb scowled. "Phobos is..."

"I didn't mean Phobos, silly boy." One wrinkled finger pushed into his breast bone. "Your heart is so strong, it will keep going long after the rest of you falls. It gives you strength but you must control it, or it will hurt you in the long run."

Caleb was silent, but not due to being speechless. Emotions ran across his usually stoic face as he considered her words. Finally, "I...understand."

"Good. I'll need you to stay with Will for a few days until you both are back to yourselves. I'll leave you now to prepare for bed, Caleb. She is in your care now. If there is any change with your charge, come get me immediately."

Yan Lin's voice became lighter than it was a moment ago as she encouraged him to, "Cheer up. If there's one girls dig, it's a man that can play nurse. Gets them hot under the collar." She turned to leave. "Remember, come and wake me if anything changes."

Caleb could have insisted that he would do that anyway, but the boy (yes, still a boy) simply nodded. Maybe, she thought as she ascended the stairs, she was getting him trained after all.

* * *

She'd been here before. Sort of. 

The howling wind buffeted her like a current of dry water as she walked through a gray expanse that seemed to go on forever. The sky was as gray as the land, the only divider between the two was the horizon which was tinged with pink around the edges, like a three-hundred and sixty degree sunrise that would never come.

She was alone and defenseless, as bare as the day she came into the world as she stumbled against the wind that pushed against her with the strength of an ocean current. Her feet dug into the textureless gray ground that had the feel of soggy sand and pulled at her every time she lifted a foot. She had been walking for hours, she thought, but she wasn't sure.

She barely remembered what had come before. A boy, a monster, pain, a scream... all running together like the not-quite-sand that caused her to stumble to her knees. Her hands shot out from where they had wrapped around her small body to catch herself, her face stopping inches from the ground. Her vision blurred; pulling one of her hands from the not-sand she touched her face and found her cheek soaked with moisture. Tears. She was crying.

And why shouldn't she be. She was alone in this strange place without her friends and she was naked and scared and the expanse went on forever and there was no hope of crossing it and no hope at all... Drops of water fell into the sand and were absorbed like they had no meaning in this wasteland.

Despair gave way to anger; with a harsh shriek she turned the tear-stained hand into a fist and slammed it into the ground. Staggering up from her knees and fighting for every inch she had sunk into the sand, she got to her feet and began to stumble toward the pink horizon. Whereas the light had been evenly distributed around her before, now the part in front of her began to build in its brilliance and she knew instinctively that it was the way out. The way back to home. She smiled for the first in perhaps forever; her temper had actually helped her for once. Shielding her eyes, she pressed forward

She'd been walking for a minute/hour/century when she saw Her.

Barely a black outline when she first glimpsed the figure, as she stumbled closer the silhouette resolved into a person. The light was so bright now she could barely tell it was a woman until she was ten feet away. Stumbling to a stop, she held herself upright as best she could manage, her breaths coming from her in ragged pants. Her heart, which had been pounding furiously from her exertion, stopped beating when she saw the short red hair that had been set on fire by the pink light and the unclothed body which was nothing but curves and the barest hints of muscle.

Even more shocking were the large wings that sprouted from the woman's shoulders and rose up above the sides of her head like some royal garment. They were nearly three feet high and shaped like bird feathers but looked more like black-rimmed butterfly wings. The pink light filtering through them like stained glass in a cathedral on the woman's body, a tattooed mosaic of purples, greens, and blacks that spilled over her shoulders and perfect breasts. Because that was what this woman was; a work of art that was simultaneously sophisticated and primal.

She stumbled forward some more and the woman's face became clearer. She was a young woman, barely out of her teens and only a few years older than herself. A head taller than the girl, she was constantly looking down on her in a literal and perhaps figurative fashion. Her expression was neutral, as devoid of any emotion as any she had ever seen. Her brown pupils were like the earth, strong and unyielding as she stared into the girl's eyes. Her skin was exotic, the color of hot fudge mixed with vanilla which combined with the strangely still red hair to further enforce the impression that she was no earthly creature. Her face was soft in form yet rigid in motion, almost statuesque yet her eyes that never left the girl's were proof that she was alive.

She was the most beautiful woman the girl had ever seen.

Barely three feet from the woman she stopped and bent over in half with exhaustion. As she struggled to regain her breath she noticed the woman's perfectly pedicured feet stood above the not-sand while her own sank up to her bony ankles. When she had regained her breath as much as she could she straightened up, her gaze traveling up to her equally perfect legs, blushing slightly at her private areas, until her eyes landed on the goddess' face. As she stared into those unshakable eyes, she noticed her reflection in them.

With a small shock she realized that she looked exactly like the woman. Or rather, the awkward younger sister of the woman. Her hair was messy even while blown back in the wind, her face looked childish in comparison and her body was bones and small lumps of flesh that had little value at all. The self-disgust she felt was overcome with realization that if she and the woman looked similar, however remotely, they had to be connected somehow.

Maybe family, and family had to help each other. Surely this incredible creature would take pity on her and try to help her less beautiful version escape this place. Surely a physical beauty such as hers would be matched by a soul as lovely and pure as her exterior.

Convinced that this woman was an angel sent to save her, she took in what she could of the thin atmosphere and said," Help me." Only a whisper, yet it took all of her strength to say it.

The woman did not respond at first. For an agonizing second the girl despaired at the thought that perhaps this angel was sent to judge her instead of save her, and the gray expanse was a purgatory where the unworthy were kept until trial. Finally the woman smiled faintly, the only movement she had displayed so far. Her hand rose to the girl's face and lightly cupped her cheek. Her skin was warm and drove away the chills of the forsaken landscape. The girl closed her eyes and sighed in contentment.

The hand traveled along her face to her chin, tickling her like a feather. Deft fingers brushed over her thin lips as if exploring her features, yet they moved along the edges of her lips with the precision of a thousand caresses. Her touch was so familiar it was like she was being touched by herself, closer than family and more intimate than any lover could be. The thought that this beauty could _be _her caused a twinge of excitement. She would give anything to trade places with this woman and know what it was like to be worshiped and truly loved... to be beautiful and not ugly... to be strong and not weak...

As soon as she thought this, the fingers traveled over her chin and across the hollow of her throat, then clasped her neck in that perfect hand. Her reverie was broken when the fingers tightened, causing her to grasp in surprise and open her eyes. The smile on the woman's face had not moved, but the blank look in her eyes had been replaced by a look of strong desire... of hunger.

The girl tried to say something to indicate that the woman was hurting her, but the vise-like grip was choking what little air she had left. As soon as she realized that the woman knew exactly what she was doing the girl grabbed at her attacker's arm, but her bitten nails couldn't scratch the delicate flesh and the woman was so strong she couldn't even bend the arm. She tried to kick at her but her legs were held fast by the sand.

She tried to say "Stop!" or call for help but all she could get out was a gurgle. The woman's fingers that had looked so long and finely manicured at first now felt like cold claws. The sweet smile had widened until it seemed to cover half of her face like the monster she barely remembered. The perfect hair had flared outward, the ends becoming as sharp as spikes. All the loose skin and feminine curves had contracted to her muscles and bone structure, giving the creature the appearance of a dried mummy from the neck down. It had gone from an angel to a harpy in seconds.

That which was once beautiful had become so ugly that, had she not been held in its grip, the girl would have rather stared at her own unattractive self instead of the gut-wrenching thing she had once worshiped.

As she sank to her knees and her consciousness began to fade, she looked desperately at the woman, who now blocked her view as she knelt with her. The light from the wings covered them both now, a horrifically beautiful display of victim and murderer that transformed the girl into a mosaic of her own. The colors of the wings that had looked so brilliant and bright on the woman at first now seemed darker; the green was the color of decay and rotten flesh, the purple the color of rust mixed with blood, and the black as deep and suffocating as a starless night. Those dark gossamer wings now looked like two shards of sooty stained glass sharp enough to cut innocent flesh in a virgin sacrifice.

For that was what it was, she realized. A sacrifice of the innocent so that this _creature _could be born. The worst part was that she had provided herself as the token virgin. She increased her struggles and expended the last of the air, but it was futile to fight this unnatural thing. As her arms fell away from the creature's and her mind began to fade, the thing that was her leaned in closer and kissed her forehead tenderly. The message was clear: _Nothing personal_.

Somehow, without having a voice, she screamed. And, somehow, her cry was heard.

But not soon enough.

_

* * *

_It really is cold down here, Caleb thought as he pulled off his still wet jerkin. He made sure Will was still asleep before he began to remove his pants, just in case. He wasn't particularly shy about his body, but he didn't want the first thing Will to see when she awoke was him in his shorts. 

Caleb had just started putting on his pajama bottoms when Will began tossing violently in her sleep and groaning in what sounded like pain. Modesty forgotten for the moment, Caleb rushed over to the cot and gently shook her shoulders.

"Will?" he asked quietly. This seemed only to increase her struggles as her legs began to flail wildly and her hands clasped at her throat. He repeated her name several more times, each time louder and more desperate than the last. "Will, wake up!"

Just as he had turned to leave and find Yan Lin, Will's struggles ceased. As he turned back to her his throat was gripped by a pair of small hands. Will was staring at him just inches from his face, her eyes full of rage and teeth bared. He was barely able to say her name before her fingers clamped down tightly around his throat and she began to strangle him.

* * *

Yet _Another_ Author's Note: I would be remiss in not mentioning a major source of inspiration for this story: a Mummy fanfic called "Rebirth" written by Anna M.C. that I read repeatedly after finding it on my hard drive has affected not only "Dark Gossamer Wings" but my whole writing style. It's filled with non sequiturs, capitalized phrases like Posture of Intense Concern, out-of-place metaphors that fit perfectly and is hilariously funny while being both dark and dramatic. I didn't plagiarize, of course, and there is a notable difference in our styles (her vocabulary is a hell of lot better) but I felt I had to say it. Give it a look if you like my story, but it's on a four year hiatus and none of Anna's links seem to work. If you're still reading Anna, please continue! I'm your No. 1 fanboy! Not in a creepy way or anything. 

Also, I'd like to thank Vathara for the advice on header breaks and cluing me into the fact that no longer has love for asteriks. If I'd known I would have posted this sooner, stupid me. Thanks, man. I'd also like to plug the "Urban Legends" crossover universe he works on. It's very intelligent and well-written.

This is the part where you hit the "Go' button. And if you want to add "Dark Gossamer Wings" to you Favorites and maybe the author as well, by all means, do so. I'd be happier than Blunk in a dumpster, but I'd smell a lot better.


	2. Bloody Pluto

Disclaimer: W.I.T.C.H. is owned by Disney and makes a whole lot of money that doesn't go to me. Which is a shame cause I have this great idea for a swimsuit issue... oh, like you haven't thought about it.

Just kidding, folks; Cornelia would give me the "poison oak in sensitive areas" treatment if she found out.

Summary: When a mission goes wrong, Will and the Guardians must confront the darkest parts of their souls or risk losing everything. Sometimes the hardest person to face is yourself...

* * *

There is a road in the hearts of us all, hidden and seldom traveled, which leads to a secret and unknown place - Chief Luther Standing Bear of the Sioux Nation

* * *

Chapter Two: Blood-Stained Pluto

Hay Lin was generally a sweet-tempered girl. If one asked Irma when the last time Air Guardian went completely ballistic on someone was, the inquirer would likely receive a blank look, quickly followed by a severe tongue lashing for asking a stupid question. As a strong proponent of peace and love, Hay Lin always tried to present her best side: cheerful, helpful, and, above all, even-tempered. Even if she _was_ about to go ballistic on someone, that person would likely never know it, even if they were fairly observant.

Blunk, the Passling who functioned as W.I.T.C.H.'s mascot and odiferous comic relief, was not fairly observant. At least not when it came to people; he noticed the "treasures" of Earth easily enough but with anything else he had the selective attention span of a six-year-old (Irma could well attest to this, having noted the similarities between Blunk and her brother Chris on more than one occasion.)

Blunk functioned as the Guardian's sneaky yet endearing little brother/smelly pet/underworld informant thingy and had to be given a little leeway regarding his less desirable traits. As Caleb once said, "He's a Passling. He can't help being greedy and disgusting." Not the most politically correct way to put it, but being PC did not always mean being right. Blunk literally couldn't help himself; he was what he was.

So Hay Lin gritted her teeth and tried to think happy thoughts as she stood scowling at the Passling in the kitchen. Or rather at the mud the Passling had tracked back in after poor Caleb had mopped up all the gunk from the first time. Her first impulse (and Hay Lin could be as impulsive as she was reserved) was to throw the sheets and quilt at him in frustration. Luckily, the reserved Hay Lin won out and offered a compromise: a verbal rebuke.

"Blunk! Look at this place!" she hissed. The Passling was covered from head to toe in gray mud that Hay Lin recognized as coming from the river that ran through Heatherfield. Any other person would have stunk like the river itself; on Blunk the mud acted as a buffer for the Passling's own natural odor. "We 're all really tired and here you make another mess for me to clean up! Why couldn't you roll around in a puddle before you came back in?"

Blunk just grinned. "Didn't want to get Will's magic sticks wet. No good then."

"What are you talking about?" Hay Lin shifted the sheets so she could see Blunk better. In his outstretched hand he was holding a small box. Her eyes widened as she read the large pink letters on the front. "Blunk, where did you get that?"

"Near store near river. Out back in can. See?" Blunk pointed to the writing on the side. Somehow the Passling could read English. "'What every woman needs.' Will need, Will need!"

_No kidding_, Hay Lin thought. After all, every thirteen-year-old girl needed tampons. "Blunk, I don't think those are gonna help her... right now."

"They will! See!" Blunk pointed to the back of the box. "'Guaranteed.' Blunk go give one to Will!"

"No!" Hay Lin shouted, nearly dropping her load in fright. "I mean, you don't know how to use them, right?" _Please don't know, please don't know..._

"Of course Blunk do." Blunk removed two opened tampons from his person and stuck them in his ears. "Like this! Good for headaches! Will only need one, though. Too tall for two."

_Oh, my, god..._ Hay Lin wasn't sure if she was going to laugh or fall over in relief. "Blunk, those... sticks... aren't what you think they are. I'd explain, but I'd really rather not. _Really_." It would be hard enough explaining to her own daughter one day the joys of womanhood; there was no way in Hades that she was going to tell Blunk about such things.

Shifting the folded sheets and quilt under her right arm, she grabbed the surprisingly clean box from Blunk. Apparently the Passling had taken great care to keep the "magic sticks" dry for Will to, well, stick in her ears. "This is really sweet of you, Blunk, you know, aside from the mud, but..."

And then her head exploded with pain. Dropping the sheets and crushing the box in her hand, Hay Lin fell to her hands and knees. She pressed her palm against her forehead in hope of driving the pain back, but it only grew in intensity like molten lead burning a hole in her skull. She could barely hear Blunk calling her name over the scream that drowned out all sound and thoughts. It was her own voice and yet it was not, her pain but it did not come from her.

She blacked out and collapsed onto the floor, her head fortuitously landing on the dropped covers. Blunk was in a near panic when thirty seconds later Hay Lin stirred and rose shakily to her feet.

She gasped out a name, then stumbled for the basement. Blunk followed a second later, mud flying off of him in all directions.

* * *

Irma was dreaming her favorite dream. It was the one where she was playing Boy Comet's love interest on the show. The details changed from time to time, most notably her character's occupation; in this particular dream she was a beautiful pirate princess that had captured the main character and was gently reminding him that he was completely under her power. Other times she was a brilliant scientist that actually understood Algebra, or a famous actress that had been kidnaped from a movie set by the same band of pirates she led in this dream. In that one their captain was a vindictive rival that strongly resembled Cornelia Hale. 

The others were there, too, and more or less in character; Taranee was the one that freaked out a lot whether she was a lab assistant or the cabin girl; Hay Lin was, naturally, the zany sidekick; Will was strangely enough the flirty one that chased men whenever she saw one; Blunk spoke like a Shakespearean character, and Caleb was... Caleb, with the appropriate change of costume.

And preferably very little in the way of a costume in the first place. He may have been Cornelia's in real life but there was no law against using him as eye candy in her dreams (at least, none she was aware of.) Though Cornelia was welcome to him and his sometimes insufferable attitude, Irma had to agree with the Infielder Queen that he was an impressive piece of work. Well-toned body, adorable messy hair, and the face of a rock star-slash-model all in one; it almost made her wish she had really fallen for him instead of just lusting away behind Cornelia's back. It was probably for the best that she hadn't; she didn't want to fight one of her girlfriends over a boy, even if it was her perpetual sparring partner Corny.

As for Cornelia in Irma's dreams, she was the yin to Lair's yang. When she was the pirate, Cornelia was the law woman sent to hunt her down but was too incompetent to do the job. Right now she was in the brig awaiting the most terrible punishment Irma could devise. It wasn't that she hated Cornelia, not at all; it was just too much fun to torment her and break her stoic and refined image. In fact, the reason so many of her favorite dreams were her favorites was that she succeeded in driving Cornelia nuts.

A particularly weird one took place in the Olympics where Irma was competing in Cornelia-Baiting with the other girls as they each tried to drive her to attempted violence. Irma had gotten a 9.0 for insinuating that she and Caleb had gotten to second base during the new Vance Michael Justin movie because Cornelia had been distracted by the on-screen hottie. That same dream she also won the 100-meter dash and the hurdle jump when Cornelia gave chase, the other Guardians running behind them and shouting weird advice like "Keep your nose dry!" and "Make responsible choices!"

Even Martin Tubbs was in a few, usually as a mutant or a pet or something she could keep in a cage. Lately her dreams had begun to let Martin out of his cage literally as she let him out of the cage figuratively in real life. Martin was almost up to sidekick status, to tell the truth. This was probably a bad sign, especially after their date-from-not-exactly-hell.

The dream was just getting to the good part (he was starting to negotiate for his freedom, using the key word "anything" with a suggestive smirk) when Sexy Pirate Captain Irma was distracted by the sound of distant yelling.

"First Mate Lin, what is that racket? I'm trying to seduce the prisoner here," she said with a pirate-y scowl. At first she thought it might be Martin since it was so high-pitched; however, the dream version of her persistent admirer was whistling as he scrubbed the deck with his toothbrush ("As ordered, Captain Love Bunny!") Just as the yelling (or maybe screaming) stopped she realized that it was a girl and looked around for Will; usually she was hanging around Caleb or another babe at this point. Heck, the whole all-male crew was pretty attractive; maybe Will was off trying to steal a kiss from the one that looked like Orlando Bloom.

"I don't know, Ma'am," Hay Lin replied. She was dressed like Jack Sparrow with pink floaties on her arms. And black goggles over her eyes._ Always with the goggles_. "We haven't begun to torture Inspector Hale yet; Taranee and Sir Blunk haven't even got back from the Salvation Army with the old clothes."

"Huh?" Irma had been watching Caleb mop while wearing only a pair of overalls, one strap oh _so_ carelessly fallen off. Her mother was right; a man doing housework _was_ sexy. "Oh, right. Then what's..."

One second she was in her dream, the next she was in a place that could accurately be called an abyss. Irma, being Irma, would have called it the inside of Cornelia's head had she not been caught totally unaware by the change in location.

The transition was so abrupt that Irma hadn't finished saying "What's" before she realized what had happened. Startled, Irma looked around her for some trace of her crew and saw only darkness. It was immeasurably large and stretched on forever like outer space without the stars and galaxies.

Irma should have been terrified, yet she didn't find her new surroundings all that scary; a pleasant feeling of security came over her, sort of like when she would hide in her closet when she was younger. The thick door and the fact that it was big enough to hold just her and maybe Hay Lin were like solid walls in her mind that blocked out things like the death of a pet or a fight with her parents. This place was sort of like that, only infinitely bigger than her closet and way cleaner.

She thought she was alone until Hay Lin whistled behind her. "Wow. That's big."

Irma whirled around to where she thought Hay Lin was and hoped she wasn't talking about the junk in her trunk. Or rather, _flowed_ around. Her movement felt even more dreamlike than before the change. There was Hay Lin sure enough, but instead of being dressed like a pirate she seemed to be stuck in transformation to Guardian form. When the girls morphed into their magical selves there was point after their clothes disappeared and before the physical changes kicked in when they were glowing with their element's color. And they were kinda naked. _Okay, no kindas about it. Caleb probably gets an eyeful every time Will says her catchphrase. You'd think he'd complain less._

Hay Lin appeared to be in this stage with some changes. Her body was glowing with the grayish-white energy of Air, which thankfully covered any embarrassing details. Unlike a regular transformation the Air energy seemed to flow in currents around her body like barely visible snakes that traveled along her skin. Like a weatherman's map on the news, Hay Lin had a system of cirrus clouds that obscured her from the shoulders down. Also different from her regular transformation was her hair; it was undone from its pigtails and floated around her like a sea of kelp. Her face was clear enough and showed confusion but not too much concern. Irma was pretty sure this was the real Hay Lin and not a figment of her imagination; only the real Hay Lin could look like she had took a wrong turn down a street instead of screaming incoherently like any sane person would.

Come to think of it, Irma wasn't screaming either.

Hay Lin was floating in place like she was underwater instead of in a vacuum, as was Irma now that she looked down at her feet. Irma wasn't surprised to see the blue power of Water rolling over her like she was a stone in a river. It didn't drip but moved along her skin like Hay Lin's air snake thingys. It looked pretty cool, actually, and also covered her not-for-show features.

"Hay Lin?" she said, her voice muffled in the abyss despite the apparent emptiness. It sounded like she had a head cold.

Hay Lin looked over her shoulder, throwing her arm up to move her hair out of her view. "Irma? Is that really you?" Hay Lin's voice was equally stuffy. There was a certain thickness in the atmosphere of this space, its density between that of aa heavy fog and the bottom of the Sheffield gym's swimming pool.

"Yep; if I'm lyin' I'm dyin'." This was a code phrase they had thought up at Caleb's insistence after the Mogriffs impersonated them.

Hay Lin responded with "If I'm fibbing I'm a gibbon." It wasn't exactly the CIA, but hey, it worked. Thus reassured of their respective identities, they began to postulate.

"This must be a Guardian Thing," Irma postulated. When something strange happened to the girls and it wasn't immediately dangerous it was chalked up to being part of the Guardian job description. This certainly qualified. "And I was having a good dream... since we're here the others probably are too. Do you see them?"

Both girls looked around the Closet (as Irma had begun to think of it) for any sign of the other three Guardians. It didn't take too long due to the lack of obstacles to their vision; Irma was flipped upside down (compared to Hay Lin, since up and down were relative in here, or out here...) looking in the original direction she'd been facing when Hay Lin shouted, "There!"

Irma spun to where she was pointing and saw two glowing stars, one red and one green, hovering side by side in the distance. Though it was too far to make out a human shape, Irma knew it had to be Taranee and Cornelia.

"Race ya!" Hay Lin challenged before floating off at a high speed toward the glows. Irma sighed in disbelief and amusement as she righted herself and followed; as serious as this probably was the girl still refused to act her age. Irma thanked God every day for that youthful spirit; it had probably saved them from losing their minds. No matter how freaked out the rest of the group became Hay Lin would always see the unusual with the eyes of a child: new and wondrous. Unless the unusual was trying to eat them, of course.

And speaking of new... floating through the Closet was completely different than flying in Guardian form. Even in Irma's deepest dreams there was a sense of reality: she could taste, touch, and use all the senses she had in the real world. When she dreamed of flying the wind brushed through her hair as surely as if it was real; in the Closet, even though she was floating after Hay Lin as fast as she could will herself to "move", there was no resistance, no actual air to brush against or, she realized with a shock, to breath. Though Hay Lin's hair flowed out behind her like she was a mermaid swimming through an ocean, Irma had no idea why it was doing that.

Her own short hair brushed against her ears and neck but she felt nothing that could be causing it to move. In fact, she couldn't even feel the hair itself... she felt it, true, but it was more like the _memory _of hair brushing her skin, like feeling something in a dream that was not quite like it was in real life. If she bit down on her tongue it didn't hurt, she only felt the simulation of pressure.

This didn't feel like a place but maybe another state of being. Part of her was still sleeping in Hay Lin's bed while another part (maybe her soul?) was in this comforting blackness chasing after her best friend. It made sprouting wings and a model's body seem less strange by comparison. Unable to come up with a satisfactory answer, Irma just resigned herself to it being a Guardian Thing.

As they came closer to the other girls Irma's eyes widened at their appearance. Without the restraints of braids and scrunchies (or gravity) the other girls' hair flew free in the Closet. Like Hay Lin's, Cornelia's hair was floating every which way but colored a yellowish green from her energy, giving her a fierce appearance somewhat like a poisonous jellyfish with sharp needles for stinging; Irma thought this very appropriate.

Taranee's braid was undone and her dark hair fell to her shoulder, partly covering her eye in a style that Irma had seen in a sci-fi movie. Hay Lin noticed this, too, and commented on it after the exchanging of the passwords.

"Awesome look, Taranee! You should wear it like that to school sometime!"

"Really? Do you think Nigel would like it?" Taranee smiled shyly, which is pretty much how she always smiled. It seemed odd to Irma since Taranee's braid usually carried over into this part of the transformation, not to mention her glasses, now absent, stayed where they were until she fully transformed. Irma sighed and dropped another pointless query off her rather extensive list of Questions That Needed To Be Answered.

"Can we focus here?" Cornelia intervened. "Something's up, or we wouldn't be in this place. And where's Will?"

"You think this is a Guardian thing?" Taranee asked.

"Has to be, or Blunk and Caleb would be floating in here with us," Irma said off hand. Taranee couldn't blush through the red glow that turned her dark skin onyx but her expression all but confirmed it. Floating around sans clothes and covered only by fire with your girlfriends was one thing; doing the same with a cute boy was another. Irma tried not to think about a naked Caleb and succeeded. Mostly.

Instead, she tried to concentrate on how impressive the others looked. It was downright unnerving yet incredibly cool to see Taranee covered in flames from the shoulders down. On Cornelia tendrils of green energy snaked around and out from her like plant roots or tentacles, further enforcing the sea creature theme the girls seemed to have going. The root system combined with the hair made her look like some sort of alien tree. Irma wondered what Will would look like, and this train of thought brought her back to present. "Shouldn't we be able to see Will? She should be bright pink, you'd think. I know we're all asleep..."

"I'm not." Hay Lin piped in. The other girls looked at her in confusion. "I mean, the last thing I remember was that I was talking to Blunk in the kitchen. I was getting some covers for Will and Caleb when I noticed he'd tracked mud in and had some... things for Will. The very last thing I remember was hearing a scream in my head that hurt it really badly. Then I was here. Did that happen to you guys?"

A few moments of brief conversation revealed that Taranee and Cornelia had been dreaming as well when they heard someone yelling and were transported to the Closet. Taranee brushed her hair over her shoulder as she spoke, which made it look even cooler to Irma. "Maybe because we were asleep and our conscious minds were dormant, we didn't get the full effect. I think that maybe this is all in our minds since I couldn't feel Cornelia's hand. I mean, I _felt_ Cornelia but it was her personality and not her skin. Oh, and we're not breathing. Did you guys notice that?"

Curious, Irma placed a hand on Hay Lin's shoulder and was overcome with a euphoria that made her giggle like a little kid. Hay Lin looked at her with a raised eyebrow before giggling herself. Irma managed to stop by sheer force of will (and biting her lip), though she still had a somewhat goofy expression on her face. "Man, you're pure laughing gas, girl. What did Corny feel like?"

Once again, Taranee spoke without thinking. "Like a really mad cat. Oh! Sorry! I meant a really nice cat that happened to be a little testy." Irma broke out into giggles again, Hay Lin following suit.

Cornelia adopted an air of outraged nobility, her root/tendrils shaking in agitation. "And you felt like a scaredy cat. Everyone just start looking for Will, okay? We all didn't appear together, so maybe she's still in here." With that the four Guardians commenced their search, spreading out a few yards from each other and looking in all directions.

After a full minute of searching Irma began to feel uneasy. There was nothing to find in the Closet, it seemed, and that was slowly starting to scare her. Taking another page from her father, she forgot her concern for Will and other distractions, focused on her instincts and what they told her about where she was.

The Closet felt protective, like the walls of her own back home, but there didn't seem to be anything to protect. Except them, but that didn't feel right either. Whatever it was protecting seemed to be hidden, or perhaps gone. Will wasn't here (she fought off a bout of fear at the thought) so why were they here, especially since Will was the Hallowed Holder of the Blessed Heart and where she went, they followed? Her gut was trying to tell something but it was getting lost in translation.

In order to keep the hair out of her eyes, Hay Lin had smoothed it out into a long ponytail and tied it in several large knots. Irma had spared a second from her search to appraise the style when Hay Lin caught her eye. "This reminds me of a joke. Do you want to hear it?"

Had the girls been doing anything besides looking around in an empty space, they probably would have dropped things or choked or did a number of other things people did when someone said something ridiculous. Cornelia looked back at Hay Lin sharply, her hair snapping around with her aggressively. "You've got to be kidding."

Hay Lin gulped and floated back a few feet, her long ponytail flipping in front of her face defensively. "Sorry, just wanted to lighten the mood."

Irma glared at Cornelia. "Ease off, Green Genie." To Hay Lin, "Tell us the joke, babe."

"Oh, okay..." Hay Lin resumed her search even as she told the joke. "This tourist is in another country and he's looking for something the tourbook calls "Babooma." It's apparently the country's greatest treasure and he wants to see it. So he asks around, and everybody points him in a different direction. Finally, he gets fed up with it and asks a policeman where Babooma is, and the cop looks at him funny and replies, 'You're standing on it.' He looks down and sees nothing. The policeman laughs and says that Babooma is what the natives call their country. It means "Home"; everyone was pointing to their house. Their country _was_ their greatest treasure. The tourist was already in what he was looking for and didn't know it." She paused. "It's not much of joke really, it's more of a moral. We're looking for Will like he's looking for Babooma..."

Irma went rigid. Something had clicked in the cop genes she had inherited from her father. It couldn't be true, but... "Will?" she asked quietly. Nothing."Will! WILL!"

The other three looked at her like she was crazy; Cornelia actually voiced the opinion. "Have you lost your mind? If she's too far away to see there's no way she can hear us."

Irma quickly explained herself. "We've been looking for Will since we got here and she's nowhere around. Her body's asleep in the basement and god knows what her mind is like right now. Hay Lin was called here by someone screaming and we were, too, and I remember thinking that it sounded like Will." Irma darted around the group like a moth around a light, looking for something, _anything_. "We can't find Will because we're like the tourist. We're _in_ what we're looking for! WILL! WIIIIIIILLLLLL!"

And then everything changed again, though not as abruptly as before. The black of the abyss lightened to gray tinged with pink, then faded into a desolate gray plain of wet sand illuminated by what appeared to be incredibly bright sunset. The girls were transformed into their Guardian forms instantly when the last of the Closet faded, their wings now fluttering in a very real and very powerful wind strong enough to send Cornelia's mane flying straight as a flag.

Irma took a deep breath as she blinked in the harsh pink light, noticing that most of it and the wind came from behind Taranee. Shielding her eyes for a better view the Water Guardian saw a black outline on the sand. She squinted and floated past Taranee for a better look. What she saw shocked her beyond words.

It was Will, nearly thirty feet away and twenty feet below them. Unlike the other Guardians Will looked like she always did, except she was naked and writhing in the sand with her hands clasped over her throat like she was choking. In the seconds of shock that followed Irma's mind registered that Will was sinking, her body had sunk up to her ears and the sand was inching toward her nose and mouth.

Realizing she could soon suffocate broke through Irma's haze. With a speed she had never had achieved before in Guardian form, Irma shot toward her leader like a green and violet bullet. As she flew closer she saw the look of ferocious anger on Will's face, though what it was directed toward she couldn't see. It wasn't the expression one would expect from someone choking; it looked more like a murderous rage one felt toward their worst enemy.

Irma hit the ground hard on her knees and barely registered that it didn't hurt. Plunging her hands into the sand, she reached under Will's neck and back and began to pull her up. Her own arms passed through the sand like it was nothing but the same material held fast to Will like tar. The others landed around her but she barely acknowledged their presences, not even when Hay Lin began to scoop out Will's legs and Taranee assisted Irma on Will's other side. All her focus was on Will and getting her away from the damned sand.

After a few seconds and an eternity Will was pulled free; the unnatural earth solidified into more or less firm ground once she was out. She was still struggling, however, Hay Lin now fighting to keep her legs down as Irma tried to pull her hands away from her throat. In the CPR class she had taken last semester (and unfortunately paired with Martin for the mouth-to-mouth) Irma had learned that choking victims would do more harm than good by clutching their throats. Trying to get Will's hands away proved difficult but doable; by hooking her fingers under Will's palms she was able to pry one of the hands away. Holding the arm on the ground with all her strength, Irma looked back to where Taranee was working on the other hand and gasped.

Will wasn't choking; from the marks on her neck it looked like she was strangling herself. Will's rage seemed to increase with this discovery and her strength almost doubled, her knees slamming into Hay Lin's chin. Stunned, she fell back as Cornelia moved in to take her place, the Earth Guardian throwing her body over Will's knees. Taranee squeezed Will's wrist as she looked for pressure point and was rewarded when Will's remaining hand loosened slightly. Seizing the moment with a ferocity she only displayed as a Guardian, Taranee pulled the remaining hand off Will's throat and slammed it into the ground. Will stopped struggling, her eyes widened, and then closed as she lost consciousness.

No one had spoken during the ordeal, and none spoke now. The question came to their minds but no one bothered to ask it. Will was saved, but she wasn't "alright." After something like this, it didn't seem like she would ever be okay again. But she was alive, at least. Cornelia, unable to remove her skirt, knelt next to Will and lay the material over her torso in an attempt to preserve the girl's foregone modesty.

Exhausted but relieved they'd been in time, Irma bent over and lightly kissed Will's forehead like her mother did when she used to wake up from a nightmare.

As her lips left her friend's skin, Will's eyes shot open. The ground around her body exploded in a blast of sand that sent the Guardians flying into the air instinctively. Recovering and hovering in place, the girls watched as an twister of gray sand engulfed Will and blocked her from view. It quickly grew into a twenty-foot tornado and showed no sign of stopping. The not-sand around the base of the whirlwind was being sucked up and leaving a large sand trap in its place, the stolen sand covering where Will lay.

As one they flew toward the dust devil, only to be caught up in the powerful air currents and spun around the storm's circumference like leaves before being tossed away from the phenomenon. There was a moment of shocked yelling before the girls righted themselves and charged again. This time the Guardians went on the attack as Hay Lin blew a gale-force wind into the tornado, Irma sent a torrent of water flying, Cornelia tried to manipulate the sand with her geomancy and Taranee was a demon that unleashed a firestorm into the mix. Despite their enthusiastic assault none of their efforts prevailed and they watched helplessly as the sand formed a featureless forty-foot tower of gray sand-stone.

"What's happening?" Hay Lin asked, not expecting an answer but hoping for one anyway.

"It's that damn Shard!" Irma snarled. "I know it!" Irma swooped in next to the tower and began to batter it with the bottoms of her fists. "Will! Let us in! It's us, your girls!"

Taranee flew up and over the tower, bespectacled eyes searching. "I can't see any openings. If we try to force our way in we may hurt Will's psyche."

"I think Will was doing a good job of that on her own," Cornelia replied, an undercurrent of despair in her voice. "How do we save her from herself?"

"Quit sounding like an after-school special and _help me_!" Irma yelled. For all her work Irma had knocked only a few grains of sand loose. She was close to sobbing and her eyes were clogged with debris and tears.

"Wait!" Hay Lin said. She closed her eyes and seemed to listen to the wind. "Everyone to the top of the tower."

The others complied without protest because, frankly, no one had a better idea to offer. Once they were above the structure Hay Lin landed on the smooth, round peak of the tower, her wings still fluttering to keep her upright. "This tower feels like the black space before; protective, not suffocating. Will put this thing up to either protect herself or protect us from whatever is attacking her. If we try to force our way in it'll lock down tighter and if we do break it, we may mess up Will's noggin."

Cornelia was her usual skeptical self about this, but even she knew that Hay Lin's empathy was her special talent she brought to the table. Judging from Irma's earlier detective work, feelings were practically road signs in this place, anyway. "So what do we do?"

"We have to show her that we're not the enemy, whatever it is. Being a Guardian is more than powers and wings; we're bonded through the Heart. Everyone, take each other's hands." The Guardians complied, first Irma who grasped Hay Lin's right hand and then Taranee who took her left. Finally, Cornelia took theirs and they formed a small square around the peak, their wings still fluttering. "Everyone think of Will, and how much we need her. Think about what we love most about her. And when all your thoughts are focused on her, call out her name."

One by one the Guardians closed their eyes and pictured their friend in their minds.

Irma thought about Will's dry wit and self-deprecating jokes, always finding herself the biggest punch line while only seeing the best in her friends. She never seemed to see her own beauty and strength in the mirrors of her heart. Her humility made her lovely in the Water Guardian's eyes.

Taranee thought about Will's good heart and strong convictions of right and wrong, how she accepted the mantle of Guardian for what it was: a responsibility to fight injustice and greed. Her righteousness made her a hero to the Fire Guardian.

Cornelia thought about Will's new-found decisiveness and her inherently stubborn nature that was the one thing they shared in common. Unfortunately, she couldn't shake the feeling that these traits she admired were the same ones that lost Elyon to her brother. Her powerful will kept her close to the Earth Guardian while it also pushed her away.

Hay Lin thought Will's love and respect of life in all its forms, from the lives of people she barely knew to those that would do her harm. This love, Hay Lin was certain, was why Will had been chosen to hold the Heart. Her compassion made her special and worthy to the Air Guardian.

"Now, call out to her," Hay Lin urged. Four voices came together in one and whispered a name: _Will_.

Unlike their transformations or attacks there was no blast of light or dramatic cues that signaled their success. In the center of their square a small two-inch crack suddenly appeared and widened until it traveled down the sides of the tower to the sand. Fissures sprung from the break and spread along the structure until it looked like someone had broken it like a vase and tried to glue it back together. With a whispering noise that sounded like a sigh of release, the fortification shattered into thousands of pieces and fell out from under the Guardian's feet. Instantly all four Guardians broke formation and bent forward in a dive through the disintegrating shards to the former tower's base. Through the rapidly evaporating dust they saw Will.

The best thing that could be said about the situation was that the leader of the Guardians was dressed now, even if it looked she was in her underwear. She wore a short, loose white top that was slung over her left shoulder and left the right one bare toga-style, her midriff uncovered and a similar short skirt that fell just above her knees. Cornelia's instinctive Fashion Radar praised the look as working with Will's red hair.

Will lay on a simple stone platform at the bottom of the not-sand trap like some sort of fairy-tale princess awaiting a desert prince to awaken her with a kiss. She was barefoot and, as they saw as they came closer, her form was still that of her real self and not her Guardian alter-ego. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her hands lay on her shoulders, making her look unfortunately similar to a body being prepared for a pagan funeral.

In a move that was almost synchronized in its execution, the Guardians landed on each side of Will like the points of a compass. Hay Lin and Taranee, her East and West respectively, took her hands off her chest and squeezed her them as they softly called out her name. Will groaned and opened her eyes slightly. "Guys?" she croaked. The other Guardians smiled in relief; their silent celebration was interrupted when Will's eyes shot open in panic. "No! You have to go! She's..."

The platform Will lay upon began to shudder like a faulty appliance. When a mental road sign informed them to "Remove The Girl _Now_," Taranee grabbed Will around the waist and yanked her off it as a black _something _exploded from the altar and covered the girls in the gray not-sand. It moved frighteningly fast and stopped nearly fifty feet over the sand trap, hovering over the girls like some ill omen. The Guardians were hunched and ready to take off at a moment's notice; their shared feeling of danger was a giant neon billboard right now, aptly reading _Abandon hope all ye who enter _instead of _Eat at Joe's_.

Will's reaction was proof enough of how dangerous this thing was; she clung to Taranee with an expression of total terror, something none of the girls had seen her display before. Only once had Will been too afraid to move, and that had been when they had first seen Cedric. They had all frozen the first time they saw the snake, but Irma would bet all the money she would ever earn that what Will had felt then was a fraction of the fear this new threat was creating in her.

Convinced this _thing _was what was wrong with her friend, Irma left the ground and closed the distance between her and the Infection (_naming things left and right today, girl._) Making sure she was a dozen feet from it when she reached its height, Irma had on her best game face when she got a good look at the trespasser. Her eyes were cut sapphires, her lips set in tight line and the ever-present wind tussled her hair in a chaotic display that matched the rolling anger in her heart. It was the kind of look that sent Lurdens running when they saw it; when Irma Lair stopped grinning, a watery hell was not far behind for those in her way.

Not that this thing looked intimidated; it didn't seem capable of expressions of any kind. Irma's first impression was that it looked like a creature she had seen on one of those No Smoking ads, specifically the one that represented second-hand smoke as it crawled into a person's nose and attacked the lungs with its claws. This thing had claws as well, gnarled digits that would have been sharp and perfect for tearing flesh had they been solid. The body was greasy smoke twisted into the vague shape of a woman about the size of a transformed Irma; other than the D-Cup-sized bust and the empty, slanted eye sockets it had no other features except a pair of wispy three-foot long trails of smoke on her shoulders that looked like wings.

Or at least the bone structure of wings, as if the feathers (or more likely leathery skin) had been torn off. Wisps of smoke leaked out from its form like steam through a tea kettle though it didn't seem to lose any mass from the leaks and the strong wind didn't seem to affect it all.

Like a character in a badly designed video game, it seemed independent of the environment but somehow dangerous enough to take more than a few hit points off of Irma's life bar. It appeared sickly and powerful at the same time, like a cancerous organ that could not function but kill the rest of the body with incredible efficiency, its original purpose completely distorted. It looked at the Water Guardian without actually _looking_ at her, causing Irma to shiver with revulsion and a little fear.

None of which carried over into her stance or voice. "I don't know what the hell you are, and I don't care. You're in my friend and I want you out. You can go the easy way, or I can kick your ass, but you _are _going. Capeesh?"

The Infection's response was to lunge at Irma with outstretched claws. One second it was just floating there; that _same_ second it was barreling towards Irma like a bullet fired from a gun. With a growl Irma darted to the side as the smoky appendages came within centimeters of her bare midriff. She was preparing a counter-attack when the Infection seemed to blur and change direction instantaneously. Even with her Guardian-enhanced reflexes Irma barely missed being eviscerated and felt five sharp pains as a claw grazed her right arm. Biting back a yelp, Irma fell back until she was twenty feet away from the thing. The Infection didn't follow, instead looking at its claw in a contemplative way though no blood remained on it. Like it was as surprised as Irma that it could touch her.

In a quick instant replay Irma realized that the Infection had not turned but _altered_ its shape; a flash-frame showed a _second _face emerging from the thing's shoulder as the first sank into its form like Irma's pet turtle Leafy did when it wanted "Me" time. This gave it a much faster window of attack and caught Irma entirely off guard. It was already insanely fast; even though this place had more or less the same laws of physics as the real world, air resistance seemed to have as little effect on the Infection as the Closet had on Irma. And to top it all off, the creep was a shape shifter to boot. Perfect. Murphy's Law seemed to apply double-time for the Guardians of the Veil.

_Smokey little bitch_, Irma thought with a verbal hiss as she pressed her hand over the cuts. Warm blood seeped down to her sleeve and turned the green material of her uniform almost black. The stinging was distracting but she didn't feel light-headed, so that was something at least. "Honey, you just made a _big_ mistake."

Flinging her hands out at the creature, Irma fired several small but powerful water blasts the size of footballs at the Infection. It dodged the first three in a bizarre display of flexibility but was hit by four through six, disrupting the creature's form and turning its lower half and right arm into murky clouds. The empty eye sockets grew into flattened ovals as a sound like a muffled groan rumbled through Irma's being; she smirked as she realized that it was the creature's version of a scream. "You like that? I got some more of that, Marlboro Woman."

Even as she trash-talked Irma stewed inside; she felt that if even if she blew the creature to smoke rings it would still reform. It was probably another Guardian thing, or one of the strange intuitions that seemed to act like a sixth sense inside Will. She knew it would keep coming like she felt the wind blowing at her back.

"Irma!" Hay Lin's voice drifted up from below. Irma kept her eyes on the Infection as Hay Lin flew up next to her wounded arm and held it out for examination. "Are you okay! Let me see."

"I'm fine, babe. Are the others with Will?" The Infection had gotten most of its legs back together.

"Yeah, we figure the smokey thing is after her and it came from the Shard. Cornelia wants us to keep it busy while she and Taranee take Will to the big light." Hay Lin blew lightly on the cuts; Irma thought she was trying to relieve the pain like she did to Irma's skinned knees in elementary school and would have rolled her eyes if she could. She was mildly surprised when the blood dried and filled in the thin but deep cuts with scabs. As she shivered slightly she realized it was like when Hay Lin froze her water: she super-cooled her plasma to stop the bleeding. It tickled a little, too, and despite the situation Irma's mouth tugged at the corners.

"Thanks, Hay Lin. This thing is fast; it moves like a NASCAR and can change direction on a dime. I don't think we can outfly it."

"We don't have to," Hay Lin said with a mischievous smirk. Letting go of Irma's arm, Hay Lin floated in front of her friend and inhaled deeply. Just as the Infection was reforming its arm Hay Lin let loose a powerful forty mile-an-hour gust that tuned the thing into a patch of smog that was stubbornly pushing against the wind. As Irma watched it dissolve she realized a way to finish the thing off.

"We'll freeze it like the snake!" Irma shouted in warning, though she knew that was probably what Hay Lin had planned all the long. Placing her hands on either side of Hay Lin's head, she poured water from her palms into the airstream until the Infection was an inky black stain floating in a river rapid. The water didn't fall off once it was past the Infection, instead stopping behind the creature and falling just a few feet below like there was an invisible bowl in the air.

After expending a good amount of water she stopped and held it in a fifteen-foot ball, Hay Lin's air still encircling it but directed by her hands now. The Infection, now water pollution instead of air, was in the middle like the core of an apple, trying to reform but only succeeding in conjuring a vague outline of a humanoid. Irma was making sure it couldn't escape the ball by spinning the water in a clockwise direction and then counter-clockwise to keep it off balance.

The Guardians each had their own element of nature to draw power from. Though the powers of fire, water, earth, and air were formidable in their natural state, the real strength of an element was not in brute force but in the _execution_. As the plants drew their life from the earth, so too did Cornelia feed their life force and they in return obeyed her commands, overriding their own genetic coding to please their stern yet nurturing mistress. Fire burns uncontrollably in nature, but with Taranee's gentle touch flames would relent their brutal assault and even became docile enough to be touched and only hot enough to warm curious fingers. Water, powerful and unbreakable, was shaping clay in Irma's hands, able to move through the air and twist into forms as dictated by her kindred spirit with her element. Hay Lin conducted the winds in joyous dances that moved heavy stone and whispered a lullaby to the energy in molecules so sweetly that she could freeze the air like the superheroes in her comics.

The Earth was their mother and the forces of nature, usually unthinking and perceived unfairly as cruel, loved them. They were the Guardian's foster parents and adopted children at the same time, empowering them and protecting them while obedient to their will.

One of Irma's and Hay Lin's most useful "tricks" was the freezing of water into instant ice. Perhaps because of their longtime bond and their elements' similar makeups, teamwork between the two was easier for them than the others and resulted in some rather impressive feats. Platoons of guards and Lurdens were frozen in their tracks; an impassable river became an icy tunnel for refugees; even Cedric, the mightiest being at Phobos' command, was captured in a ball of ice at their bidding. Since their conception water and air have been sisters in the making and support of life; as Hay Lin once said to Irma after a science class, "Air is water that's not so squished together."

The ice globe trick had been sweet; one-upping the snooty Cedric that had fooled Elyon in betraying them had been the highlight of Irma's Guardian career. Cedric was like a super-villain in one of the new superhero movies that were the fad now-a-days: to defeat him the heroes had to put aside their differences just to have a chance in hell of pulling it off. It certainly helped to have a _deus ex machina_ to help in this task like, say, the lake that they had fought Cedric in during the jailbreak.

Instead of summoning the water from her own magical reserves, Irma had simply used the lake to grab the jerk in a large ball of water that was promptly frozen by Hay Lin. It had been so easy that Irma hoped the next time they met up with "Lord Cedric" he was near the ocean so she could tsunami his scaley tuchess. She was the mistress of the waves after all, and any water action was in _her_ house.

Unfortunately, there was no lake inside Will; even the supposedly damp not-sand contained nary a drop of moisture. So, Irma was stuck with using her own magical well of water that flowed from her fingers, exhausting herself far more than she had by trapping Cedric. But with Will's safety riding on her, Irma was drawing on reserves she never knew she had and her anger had sharpened her control to a degree she never would have thought possible for a impatient individual like her.

And so, fifty feet in the air, Irma held enough water in a spinning globe to fill a dump truck aloft as Hay Lin rapidly decreased the temperature around it. As Irma strained to keep the water floating, small icebergs began to form inside it as the surface began to freeze into a thin layer of ice. Irma prayed Hay Lin would hurry; lifting the water was hard enough but alternating the currents was ensuring a long nap for the Water Guardian when this was over. She didn't have to keep it spinning once half the globe was frozen, luckily, and instead turned her attention to keeping it in the air. Still, the exertion was murder, like a hard workout compressed into a few seconds.

Just when Irma thought she couldn't put out any more, the last few gallons of water froze in the center and trapped the Infection in solid ice. Drained, Irma's hands clasped Hay Lin's ankles to keep from falling to the ground. Hay Lin not only held steady while her friend hung on to her for support but gently began lowering the three of them -her, Irma, and the Infection On Ice- to the ground, though it was done very quickly.

Irma finally dropped off ten feet from the sand and landed on her hands and knees as Hay Lin placed the ice down with an earth-quaking _thud_. The ice globe sank into the not-sand a foot before coming to rest. The Air Guardian landed after the globe and stood stoically with her fists clenched in front of their creation for a second; then, with a rather cute groan (whoooo!), she fell flat on her back in front of Irma with her arms and legs splayed out.

The two friends were silent for a moment before Irma said, "Will owes us big time for this."

Hay Lin grinned up at her as she made a not-sand angel with her arms and legs. "Large with pepperoni big?"

"Uh uh. Extra large supreme big. And we get to raid her closet." Irma looked up at the globe and cocked her head to the side as she examined it. "You know, we might have a future in ice sculpture."

They looked at each other and giggled madly for a few seconds before being interrupted by a loud _crack_. Their eyes shot to the ice globe, where a large fissure had appeared. From the break dozens of small cracks spread all over the ball like an abused egg. Irma had enough time to say a particularly dirty word before it exploded and pelted the two Guardians with large chunks of ice.

Throwing their arms over their faces protected them being brained in the head but couldn't save from being pummeled by baseball-sized pieces of ice. As soon as the last piece slammed into Irma's ribs her arms dropped away and she saw the Infection floating above what was left of the ice globe's base. Gathering what energy she had left to defend her and Hay Lin, Irma was both dismayed and relieved when the Infection showed no interest in attacking them. Its slanted eye sockets were pointed past them towards the light. Towards Will.

With bone-shaking groan, it went from zero to forty in less than a second as it flew over the Guardians in pursuit of its prey.

* * *

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." 

"Will, shut up!" Cornelia growled as she looked over her shoulder for signs of the smoke thing. "There's not enough air for talking and running, so... just... _run_!"

As soon as Irma had taken off after the smoke thing, Cornelia had ordered Hay Lin to follow her while they headed for the big reddish pink light. Cornelia reasoned that Hay Lin, as the Air Guardian and best flyer, would be more helpful to her longtime friend than her or Taranee. She and Taranee would fly Will to the light which was, according to Hay Lin, the way out of this dream world, her exact wording unfortunately "Head toward the light!" It seemed like a simple plan.

Of course, it had gone horribly wrong from the start. Upon trying to pick up Will the Guardians had discovered that the ninety-five pound girl now weighed as much as three Calebs. Despite urgings to "think light," and other unfruitful suggestions Will didn't seem to be able to do anything about her sudden surge in mass. After she gave a futile attempt to transform Cornelia realized that they were in serious trouble. Cursing the day that Yan Lin had given Will the Heart of Candracar, Cornelia had grabbed her hand and began running up the sandtrap and toward the light, Taranee hovering protectively over them.

As frustrating as it was that Will had put on four hundred pounds in an afternoon (and was still a size smaller than Cornelia to boot,) even worse was that Cornelia herself was handicapped as well. Since trying to stop the dust devil that formed the tower the Earth Guardian had come to realize she was effectively powerless inside of Will. The sand they ran on was not really earth, nor did it have any plants growing in it. She could feel her powers but there was nothing for them to work off of. Figuratively speaking, Cornelia had the guns but no ammunition. This development was driving her insane, to say the least.

Never mind that she was defenseless; what was even worse in her mind was that she had even less control over the situation than usual. Deep down, Cornelia had always felt that her powers were the strongest of the Guardians; the soil was everywhere on both Earth and Meridian, plants could be found even in the harshest desert, heck, she could turn tables and chairs into warriors ready to fight for her. It was she that defeated the mother mudslug, one of the mightiest creatures in Meridian, with the help of her element. So, yeah, she was a little cocky when it came to her position in the Guardians. They needed her, of course, not to mention the power of the earth.

And then they got yanked into this place. Suddenly, Cornelia realized that she needed the others as much as they needed her and probably would have never been able to defeat the mother mudslug without their magical support. Yan Lin's saying "Five As One" was apparently much more than a cool name for a band and was apparently Standard Operating Procedure for the Guardians of the Veil. One for all, all for one, go team, go.

For someone who was used to excelling on her own the idea of being a team player was one that took some getting used to. Not that she had any choice: it was literally do or die. Cornelia had to admit, though, she probably wouldn't have learned the lessons she had if she had been given the choice to become the Earth Guardian. Plus, she had to admit the idea of belonging to a group that had your back like the Guardians wasn't so horrible. The powers were wicked awesome, too. And there _was_ Caleb...

This current problem, however, was different than the usual Guardian business. The rules hadn't just changed, the Book of Rules had been burned and put out with a fire extinguisher, then stomped on. And their leader (who had got her position by god knows how) was completely helpless and relying entirely on the others. It was like those trust exercises where you had to fall back in other people's arms and hope that your head doesn't splat the ground. Only in this case the ground was chasing after Will and Cornelia had her hands tied behind her back.

Cornelia hated the lack of choice that came with being a Guardian, but there was some consolation in the cool powers. Now, however, she was without the earth to help her. And it sucked big time.

Now she had to rely on the others entirely for both her and Will's protection. It wasn't that she lacked confidence in their abilities; it was that she realized that this thing was after Will in a bad way and would not be deterred or destroyed until Will was out of Will. Or whatever.

So if Irma and Hay Lin couldn't defeat it and Taranee was overcome there wasn't a blessed thing Cornelia could do to stop it. If their arms failed Cornelia would have to watch as Will fell toward the ground, or vice-versa. This made her a little antsy and she was trying not to take it out on the person she was trying to save, who was running as fast as she could on shaky legs and squeezing Cornelia's hand so tightly it began to hurt. Cornelia could take it, though; figure skating could be a lot more painful than it looked. What hurt worse was the fact that she might just be as conceited as some people had said over the years. Never had she believed she would be in this position, helpless and reliant on others; humility tasted a lot like her burnt cooking.

Taranee was slightly above and behind them, facing the direction they had came and watching the last two Guardians running interference. She was also giving a play-by-play of what was happening more than two hundred yards from them. _That must be some prescription for her eyeglasses_, Cornelia thought wryly. "Okay, the ice ball is on the ground. Hay Lin is standing there... she just fell back but I think she's okay. I think they've contained it... crap! The ice ball just exploded! I see the thing and... it's coming this way!"

Cornelia powered on while Will tried to look back. "Are the girls okay?" she asked, mirroring Cornelia's own thoughts down to the exact words.

"They're up and fly... Keep going!" Taranee's fists' flared up so high that Cornelia felt the heat on her back. The Fire Guardian gave a fierce battle cry as she flew toward the shadow that was rapidly closing on them.

Cornelia prayed that the smoke creature didn't like fire.

* * *

"Taranee the Tame." Once, back in her hometown of Sesamo, a particularly mean girl in her first grade class had gave her that moniker when she refused to stick up for herself when she took Taranee's crayons from her. The implication being that Taranee was naturally submissive and deserved to be treated with disrespect because of this. 

Taranee had shoved the girl into a cabinet for the remark. The girl had lightly banged her head onto the wood and cried like she'd had her skull cracked open.

The only ones not surprised by Taranee's act of aggression were her classmates. They had watched the entire school year as the mean girl (Taranee couldn't even remember her name) had teased and bossed the sweet and quiet Taranee around in order to cover up her own fears and doubts about the strange new world known as school. It was a sign of Taranee's restraint that it had taken nearly six months of torment for her to even consider going against her parents' teachings and lashing out. The teacher had tried but was never able to catch the other girl in the act and was in fact just outside the door when the "assault" occurred. Taranee herself couldn't explain why she did it when her parents and the guidance counselor asked; something about being labeled, being told that you were weak with your own personal title sparked something in Taranee's mind.

Nothing much was done about the incident. The girl's parents were "shocked" like most parents would be that their daughter could be capable of saying mean and hurtful things to, as Taranee's teacher described her, "the sweetest child I've ever taught." This was before the fears of school violence had turned parents and faculty paranoid with thoughts of first-graders bringing guns and knives to school; all the parents had asked for was an apology from both girls to each other. Facing each other in the principal's office the two girls had mumbled out false apologies in front of the adults, who had forgotten that every child learned to lie as soon as they learned how to talk. Lesson Number 2 in the Spoken Language: The Truth Hurts; Lie To Avoid It. And neither was sorry for their actions to the extent that they wouldn't do it again.

Taranee and the other girl were placed on opposite sides of the classroom and made a point of avoiding each other for the rest of the year. Taranee's lack of regret was somewhat justified (to her) since she wasn't picked on again by anyone after her show of force. While passing the girl in the cafeteria the day before summer vacation, Taranee had heard her whisper to her friends three words: _Taranee the Terrible._

Taranee had dropped her tray in shock; the girl had run from the lunchroom most likely believing Taranee was going to attack her again. The thought never crossed her mind; the new nickname had generated conflicting feelings in her she had never felt before. She felt shame at the idea that she might be indeed be terrible, while at the same time there was a feeling of power in knowing that a former persecutor now feared her. Leaving the tray on the floor, Taranee had ran to the girls' bathroom and threw up, in of all places, the sink.

Sent home early for fear of a stomach virus outbreak, Taranee had been attended to by her mother and brother Peter, who had gotten the whole story out of her. She remembered how Peter had laughed at the nickname. "Taranee, if it took you that long to be 'Terrible,' then it can't have been easy for you. You're a sweetheart, little sister."

Peter had been so sure of himself Taranee couldn't help but believe him. From then on she was "Taranee the Sweetheart," a shy, awkward girl that was intelligent and thoughtful and wouldn't think of hurting anyone. What she never told Peter, or her parents or anyone for that matter, was that the first time she had thought of shoving the girl was when they first met and she insulted Taranee's name. She didn't tell them that it was her parent's teachings that kept her from striking then; she didn't tell them that the moment of violence, minor as it was, was accompanied with a release that could best be described as rapturous. She didn't tell that deep down she didn't feel like a sweetheart at all, but a flame on a candle that wanted to burn into a fire.

For years Taranee had strived to be the "Sweetheart" she was told she was, so much so that the act became such a part of her that she no longer thought about the moment of freedom. No longer thought about the girl falling away from her with a shocked expression on her face.

And then she became a Guardian of the Veil. At Will's command, the composed girl that was Taranee Cook was replaced by a spirited and ferocious valkyrie like a butterfly emerging out of its cocoon. Or maybe, Taranee would theorize when she was alone and playing with a fireball in her hands, Mr. Hyde emerging from Dr. Jekyll.

Taranee the Sweetheart was practically MIA; Taranee the Terrible was in charge and loved nothing more than seeing Lurdens and Phobos' guards running in fear of her fire. Taranee the Terrible wanted to unleash a hellish firestorm on Cedric that would burn the evil snake to barbecue; she would never do it, of course. Whatever Taranee was in charge at the time was still playing by the same rules as a Guardian. In a way, Taranee the Sweetheart had the overriding vote in Terrible's final decisions.

Now, as Taranee flew toward what Irma had dubbed the Infection with her arms covered in flames up to the elbows, Taranee the Terrible was in full command. Or more accurately, both Taranees were finally seeing eye to eye on something. This thing of smoke and disease had threatened Will's life and seemed intent on destroying her very soul. Unlike fighting Cedric and Phobos, who would have tried to wipe out the Guardians if they had been any other girls in the world, this thing was personally gunning for Will like it had one nasty grudge against her. Against Will, the nicest person Taranee had ever met and last one she could imagine someone hating. Ethics didn't even make a speedbump in Taranee's reasoning; the Infection was already dead and just didn't know it.

Taranee was more than eager to inform it of this change in status.

With a battlecry worthy of a true valkyrie, Taranee fired a massive fireball from her hands at the Infection. With supernatural agility, it seemed to stretch as it skimmed the top of the ball and locked in on Taranee like a heat-seeking missile. Switching to her smaller guns, Taranee pulled up and away as she flung small fireballs at the thing. A few tagged the Infection but left only small grooves in its smoky form. Realizing she couldn't dodge the incoming attack, the Fire Guardian opted for an aggressive defense and threw up a ten-by-ten foot wall of flames that caused the Infection to angle to the right to bypass her and head back towards Will.

"Uh uh," Taranee growled as she spread her arms wide. "I don't think so!" The firewall expanded and bent until it closed around the Infection like net of napalm. In an imitation of Irma and Hay Lin's earlier feat, Taranee trapped the Infection in a huge globe of fire. Once it was contained, Taranee contracted the globe until it was as tall as she was. The Infection, barely visible through the flames, was bent over and rapidly curling into a fetal position to avoid the fire.

Taranee's eyes flashed with satisfaction as she smiled at the monstrosity. "So long, Smokey. It's _not_ been nice knowing you." With a casual ease that was somewhat frightening to the Sweetheart in her, she clenched her fist and reduced the globe to the size of a billiard ball. The heat from the flames was so intense the globe burned blue in the center.

Irma and Hay Lin joined her just as she apparently ended the Infection's existence. Both were a little shocked and impressed at Taranee's display of decisive brutality. Irma floated over to the miniature globe until her nose was inches away from it. "Yikes. Did you get it?"

"I think so," Taranee said. Irma pulled away as Taranee leaned in to inspect her catch and peered into the miniature globe with squinted eyes, the flames reflected in her lenses. A small black mass was wiggling in the blue flames in the center. "I think..."

Taranee was a little shocked when Hay Lin slammed into her mid-section like a defensive lineman tackling a quarterback. A half-second and a few inches later, the fire globe exploded in a flurry of slashing, smoky claws, far more than the two the Infection originally possessed. Taranee's glasses were knocked away by something that looked like a foot; her eyes were perfectly capable in her Guardian form, however, giving her a perfect view of the Infection as it snapped back into its original shape like a wadded up sponge. Unlike the last escape, the monstrosity didn't hesitate as it flew past Taranee and Hay Lin after Will, Irma right behind it.

Ready to give pursuit as well, Taranee was thrown off-guard when Hay Lin grabbed her waist from above her. Irritated, she was about to inquire as to what Hay Lin's particular damage was when the younger girl said, "Hang on!"

One second she was hovering in mid-air; the next she was shooting toward Irma's boots like a rocket.

* * *

Lesson Number 2 in Being a Guardian: Learn to Adapt. 

Taranee had just left when Cornelia's ego re-inflated with a brilliant idea. Since carrying Will was out of the question and she was effectively impotent in the earth-moving department, Cornelia had assessed what she did have and how she could use it. Running across the not-sand with Will had dredged up memories of her father playing with her on a beach when she was her sister's age. A small thing at the time, Cornelia had been thrilled when her Pop would spin her around so fast her feet would leave the ground. When they ran together it was almost like flying, her feet barely touching the ground as she was carried along by her father's strength.

Cornelia wasn't sure why this memory had come to her now, but it had to be nothing short of divine inspiration. Checking to make sure Will was holding on tightly enough, Cornelia fluttered her wings and gradually left the ground. She gained a little height until she was floating on level with Will's head. Slowly and with Will's hand still in hers, she eased over Will and gripped her friend's wrist with her left hand. Will hadn't said anything yet, either not noticing or trying not to run out of breath. Both hands now on Will's left arm, Cornelia's right hand let go of Will's as she tightened her other's grip.

Will looked up in surprise; Cornelia was about to tell her to grab her outstretched hand when Will went ahead and did it anyway, each girl gripping the other's wrists like a highwire trapeze act. Realizing that Will had picked up on her plan, Cornelia felt relief flow through her. This was the Will she knew. She yelled, "Hold on!" over the wind. _Here goes..._

Confused but entirely trusting of Cornelia, Will did as she was told. When she had a good grip, Cornelia went from ten mph to twenty-five. Will was too heavy to carry by herself or even with the others; even though her wings were reduced in effectiveness they were far from useless, however. During a powers practice last week Irma had clocked Hay Lin going seventy with a radar gun borrowed from her father; each of the girls could hit fifty without too much difficulty and plenty of airspace. Turning was difficult at these speeds but in Cornelia's current situation movement wasn't much of an issue. All she had to do was move forward and move fast.

The sudden increase in speed threw Will off for a second, her feet flailing and scraping the ground as her extra weight burned Cornelia's arms and caused to her sweat profusely. Eventually she found her rhythm, bare feet padding the not-sand lightly as Cornelia strained to pull her along. It had worked like a charm; their speed was effectively doubled and the Light was so bright now that Cornelia kept her eyes focused on Will's blown-back hair so as to not go blind.

Gradually increasing the speed every few seconds in order to allow Will to adjust, the Earth Guardian let loose a whoop of triumph. The wind was howling in Cornelia's ears but she could have sworn that she heard Will laughing. Will's face came up for a second and she was indeed laughing, not unlike a younger Cornelia had. For a moment, the seriousness was lost as Cornelia began laughing as well. Just two girlfriends having fun with a new trick.

_We're going to make it!_

Her only warning was Irma shouting her name. Looking backward past her magically augmented bosom, Cornelia barely caught a glimpse of the Infection as it slammed into her and broke her grip on Will.

Cornelia went down hard, tucking and rolling only reducing the impact slightly as she smashed into the not-sand. Hair in her eyes and aching all over, Cornelia shook her head to clear her view as she sat up and turned to where Will had fallen and lay still. She began crawling toward Will as the other Guardians zoomed toward them. Her eyes were focused on Will, however, until she got within a foot of her friend and the neon sign of danger lit up in her mind again. Her eyes lifted upwards and she whispered a hoarse, "_No_."

The Inflection floated less than two meters above its target, the pink light seemingly unable to penetrate its body. It reached downwards with a sooty arm that stretched like taffy towards Will's neck.

There are moments that stay with us all our lives. Most of these are accompanied by a choice, and it's usually, but not always, the wrong one. No matter the outcome, the act of making that decision is what haunts us.

As Cornelia watched the creature reach for her friend she made a choice. Whether it was the wrong one or not will be debated by the philosophers that will discover her journal in the libraries of Meridian centuries from now. Some it will say it was a moment of weakness in a lifetime characterized by strength and bravery; others will say it was Cornelia's selfish character breaking through her veneer of emotional fortitude. Long before these intellectuals are even born Cornelia will spend the occasional night roaming the halls of her home while her husband and children sleep, looking into mirrors without make-up or masks of air trying to see who she really is. All because of one moment.

Deprived of her powers Cornelia was unable to strike at the Infection. All she had was her wings and physical body. The others were a hundred yards away and wouldn't make it in time. Nothing was standing between Will and the Infection.

But that could be changed.

Cornelia's wings flapped slightly in the breeze. If she applied a short burst of speed she could place herself over Will and block the Infection. But then what? The Infection had hit her much harder than smoke should have been able to; it was solid and possessed unnatural strength that would have little trouble removing her. Unless it did have trouble and decided to kill her. Cornelia had a sudden image of those claws raking across her throat and tossing her lifeless form away before taking Will anyway.

The philosophers that will read her journal will have never met Cornelia Hale. They won't know that if Cornelia had thought that giving her life away would have saved Will's, there would have been no hesitation. It's one thing to die and know that you will give someone the rest of their life in exchange for yours and quite another to do so and only delay the inevitable for mere seconds. The choices were A. and B.; A. Sacrifice both their lives in a final show of devotion that Will would definitely not have wanted or B. Do nothing and watch her die but live yourself. This moment will cause the older Cornelia with a home and a family to break down in front of the mirror, her quiet sobs waking her children and making them wonder why Mommy cried at night.

At the point of no return as the claw dipped low enough that her body could no longer fit over Will's, Cornelia lay as frozen as a statue. When the Infection gripped Will's neck and lifted her unconscious form in the air like a trophy, Cornelia finally screamed a wordless cry.

Whether it was for her or Will, nether she nor the philosophers will ever know.

* * *

There were _definite _advantages to being the Air Guardian. When Irma took off after the Infection Hay Lin knew that she and Taranee weren't going to be able to catch up by just flying. So, after clasping her hands around Taranee's waist, Hay Lin kindly asked the air in front of them to please move and give them a push while it was at it, thank you very much. Thus, provided with minimal air resistance and some extra thrust, the two Guardians were gaining on their quarry. 

Still, it wasn't fast enough. The creature had quickly outdistanced a tired Irma who fell back until she was barely keeping up with Hay Lin. Hay Lin heard Taranee gasp when the Infection hit Cornelia and knocked Will loose from her grip. They were twenty yards away when the Infection lifted Will up by the throat and Cornelia screamed. With Will in front of it the Infection was protected from Taranee's fire and Irma could barely fly; only Hay Lin had a shot.

Letting go of Taranee, Hay Lin breathed in and blew out a wind funnel no wider than a foot that punched through the Infection's chest and left a gaping hole. The body-shaking Groan was deeper this time as the Infection twisted its head around Exorcist-style and narrowed its "eyes" at the Guardians. None of the Guardians noticed the malevolent stare; their attention was focused solely on Will.

Will was unconscious again, and it was probably for the best. The Infection's hand had sprouted tendrils at the wrist that were pushing into Will's mouth and nose like it was pouring its essence into her. Revulsion made Hay Lin gag and delayed her next assault as Taranee ignited her hands and flew straight for the Infection's head.

The head retracted into the body as Taranee knifed her emblazoned hand toward it. The other claw swiped toward her but was disintegrated by a water blast from Irma. Taranee stabbed her other hand where the hole in the infection's chest was reforming and cut downwards toward its stomach. The infection withdrew its tendrils and released Will; Hay Lin caught her in mid-air and dropped to the ground some ten feet away. Damage to its body was either not as easily repaired or the Infection was finally weakening; it swayed in the wind like the silhouette of a puppet Hay Lin had seen in a Chinese shadow play.

Taranee, nowhere near as exhausted as Irma or Hay Lin were, pulled back and generated a two-handed blast of constant fire at the Smokey Slut (her particular name for it) not unlike a flame-thrower. The Groan stretched on longer this time as the Infection writhed in the flames like Will had in the not-sands; both Taranee and Irma savagely thought this _very_ appropriate.

Hay Lin wasted no time in checking that Will was still breathing and trying to wake her. She was coughing out clouds of black smoke but refused to regain consciousness. Irma sagged over and plopped to the ground next to her, her wings drooping from the exertion. Cornelia, looking paler than any of the girls could remember, joined them still on her hands and knees. Trying to lift Will to a sitting position, Hay Lin was unpleasantly surprised when Will stayed stuck to the ground.

Cornelia quickly explained. "She weighs hundreds of pounds in here. We have to carry her somehow." Even these words seemed to tax her, as if she was as drained as the other two girls. Neither noticed at the moment; Taranee was frying the bigger fish, but there was no telling how long that would last.

Maybe because she had stopped listening to her body scream at her to rest, Irma's mind was working faster than usual. She placed a hand on Hay Lin's shoulder and said two words: "Skating rink." Even that took away precious seconds of hurried breathing.

Hay Lin was confused for a second, then grinned. Irma, having got her message across, shifted around until she was kneeling towards the light. Placing her hands a few inches above the sand, she poured water out like a gushing stream that flowed unnaturally towards the light. Under her command, the water shaped itself into the form of a one-inch thick plane with rounded right angles as it flowed the exit. The light was barely fifty feet from them; had Hay Lin had her darkest goggles with her, she would have seen that the light was actually a pink portal not unlike the blue ones they traveled through to Meridian. As it was, the light was too bright for them to discern any details; their only indication that the exit was near was their Will Sense.

As the water flowed past the portal, Hay Lin blew lightly over Irma's shoulder, the Water Guardian feeling a slight chill on her ear like the first breeze of winter. The water began to freeze, transmuting into an icy path as smooth as Cornelia's skating rink.

Hay Lin turned to Will, who was no longer coughing but still unconscious, and begin spinning her hand at the wrist. Air began to push into the microscopic space between the not-sand and the girl, until Will was floating a foot over the ground on a powerful wind current like a hovercraft. Hand still spinning, Hay Lin directed her over the slide and placed her down as gently as she could on the ice, head-first towards the light. With that, Hay Lin was officially tapped out; so was Irma, who rose shakily to her feet supported by Cornelia. Realizing that neither of them could propel Will along the path, Hay Lin said to Cornelia, "You have to pull her out of here."

Cornelia's eyes widened, as if Hay Lin had asked her to do something profane. She nodded jerkily and handed Irma off to Hay Lin. Hovering over Will, she picked up her limp arms (which easily weighed ninety pounds each) and began to pull her along the icy path. Irma and Hay Lin ran (actually stumbling extremely fast) alongside her, the sheer act of flying too much for their drained bodies until their wings rested.

Taranee, still frying the Infection like a hotdog on a stick, pulled back one of her hands from the flamethrower while keeping the other in place. Rubbing the fingers of her free hand together, she began to generate a ball of fiery plasma that rolled around in her grip like the material in a lava lamp. A split second before she disengaged the flamethrower, she lobbed the ball of plasma almost casually at the foot of the Infection.

When it hit the ground, a geyser of fire erupted that washed over the shadow like an ocean wave. The Groan grew in pitch until it made Taranee's ears hurt. It was a good hurt, though, and she tossed a mock salute at the Infection. "So long, you ho. Enjoy the burn." With that she took off after the others.

Within the geyser of fire the Infection stopped its screaming and began to spin rapidly, wrapping itself up with centrifugal force. It increased its motion until it was as thin as a rope... or rather, a drill, because it used the motion to punch through the semi-solid surface of Taranee's modified fire net. The net was designed to function somewhat like a real one made of ropes: a large animal could get caught in it, but a much smaller one could easily slip through. That is, if it wasn't fried to a crisp. In the Infection's weakened state, it was barely able to break the surface but once it did it was easy to flow through like a cloud of ink polluting the atmosphere.

Expanding quickly into a black thunder head, the Infection was no longer humanoid in any form save for the face that occupied the center of the cloud. It was vaguely feminine, yet saying it resembled a woman was like saying that Mount Rushmore resembled four dead presidents... before any sculpting was done. The Infection had shed the form it had donned upon entering this pocket dimension and revealed what it truly was: a malevolent entity, a plague that was more horrible than any micro-organism since its objective was not to survive by reproduction but _destroy_ by reproduction. Unlike a virus which lived to live it lived to kill, not just the flesh, but the very soul by process of modification into something... else.

It was, in short, a very bad thing. A very bad thing that had poured itself into Will. Like a virus hides in cells before rupturing the vessels and spreading throughout the body.

Perhaps that was why it seemed to be weakening when the girls last assaulted it; it had already given part of itself away. In the Guardians' minds, they had stopped it from finishing its task; they couldn't been more wrong. At the moment all they cared about was getting Will out of Will and maybe getting some sleep when they did. At the moment it was all they really _could _do; it was the right thing to do and certainly good damage control, but it wasn't the solution they thought it was.

For the second Will wished to become the goddess she let it in. The insertion through her mouth and nostrils was practically for show, most of it leaving her when she hacked it up; like second-hand smoke to a person with lung cancer, the effect it had on her was moot.

And while the damage was done, the Infection was designed to be persistent. This it did have in common with biological viruses and, with another Groan that sounded vaguely like a hiss, it began to flow after them like a sentient weather front. As Irma would have put it, "Evil front moving in from the northeast, ninety-nine percent chance of all hell breaking loose."

If Irma didn't become a comedian or a police officer or even an ice sculptor, she could probably make it as a weather girl.

* * *

In an inspiring display of teamwork, Taranee saw that Cornelia was dragging Will along the ice and swooped down to grab Will's ankles to add her own propulsion. Irma and Hay Lin had now taken to the air, supporting each other like one-winged angels that had missed the bus and were trying to get back to heaven. As they neared the light, the Neon Sign of Danger flashed in their minds, though not as brightly as before. Irma swivelled her head back and would have made a retort about evil weather fronts moving in had she not been dead tired. As it is, she managed to swear so fiercely that Hay Lin's ears turned red. "What's your problem?" Irma asked the weather front. "Go away!" 

The Infection responded with a _hissssss _that was open to interpretation.

"We're almost there, keep going!" Taranee encouraged. Sure enough, the light was now unbearable to look at. Irma, Hay Lin, and a somber Cornelia kept their eyes on Will; Taranee looked over her shoulder at the Infection through her flickering wings, the motion of her appendages making the woman-faced cloud look like a stop-motion monster in a 1930's horror movie. The front wasn't as fast as it had been when it was a humanoid but neither were the Guardians moving at full speed. Even with the ice Will was moving far too slowly for comfort, barely three feet a second with thirty to go. It was turning into a close race, too close for Taranee.

Taranee did a quick assessment of the situation. Will was out, and even if she did wake up it wouldn't make her move faster. Cornelia's powers didn't work and Irma and Hay Lin were beat. Only she had any juice left and even if she attacked the Infection it would probably break free of her attacks like it had before. Not to mention leaving Will and Cornelia would lower their speed even further. So, what to do?

Neither Taranee had any ideas on the matter, so both of them asked each other WWWD: What Would Will Do?

Proving that the people we love are always with us (especially if they're shouting orders) the Fire Guardian heard Will's voice in her thoughts. _Taranee, forget about the Smokey Slut, use your powers to make us go faster!"_

Well, duh. Taranee concentrated on the image of hershoes bursting into flame as she moved up and wrapped her arms around Will's knees. On anyone else this would be considered incredibly painful, yet on Taranee the most she felt was the tips of her toes warming up a little. Focusing further, she pictured a documentary she'd seen on the History Channel about jet planes and the thrust provided by their engines. And unlike when Hay Lin had given them a boost with air pressure, Taranee literally had rockets on her feet.

Cornelia yelped when Will picked up sudden speed and started to leave her behind. She glanced back at Taranee in disbelief as she shouted, "Everyone pick up Will!"

In a sudden burst of strength accompanied by a scream of challenge, Cornelia lifted Will up enough that her head and shoulders left the ice. Irma and Hay Lin broke apart and dropped down to loop their arms around Will's back and each other's, their faces squeezed together between Will's elbows. Taranee lifted Will's legs until she was completely off the ice. In the same way that a multi-ton jet was propelled through the air by opposing forces, Taranee was making the impossible possible.

As the light blocked out everything else, the Groan of the Infection rumbled through them. They knew, without seeing, that the cloud of darkness was literally nipping on Taranee's heels. And Taranee, the real Taranee that was the Sweetheart and the Terrible and the Daughter and the Coward and the Lover and the Hater and so many other things, would have given those two feet to guarantee they all got out of this alive.

Yelling their heads off and lifting with all their might, the Guardians flew through the middle of the portal as it closed behind them. The Infection missed the train, coming to a stop where the portal had been and Groaning in impotent rage. Though its task was complete, it would not be satisfied; couldn't be to tell the truth. Things like satisfaction and contentment weren't in its nature, right up there with mercy and the concept of personal space.

So intent on voicing its displeasure at the universe, it didn't notice the increasing vibration of the not-sand under it. When it did notice, it also noted the pink light that ringed the horizon and was growing taller and reaching for the top of the sky. It covered the grayness until everything was bathed in light that made the gray not-sand look like a vast plain of Pepto Bismol, the Infection unknowingly the spiritual equivalent of a stomach cramp brought on by an extra-spicy Shard.

When the sky was completely covered the Infection gazed furiously around as if looking for someone to maul. When it finally saw the enormous wave of energy barreling towards it, the face within actually looked stunned as it realized that its existence was about to end.

With a roar of hoarse challenge, the Infection was defiant to the last when the energy wave hit it. As it was taken apart by its metaphysical molecules, its last recognizable expression was a cruel smile. After all, it had done its job; the rest was up to Her.

* * *

Suspended on its rusty nail, the Heart of Candracar flashed briefly as it destroyed the Infection within. This went unnoticed by the two occupants of the basement as their attention was solely focused on the other; for them their world began and ended with them and, distantly, the bed on which they lay intertwined somewhat uncomfortably. This would have been romantic had it been a honeymoon and not a case of attempted homicide. 

Two pairs of brown eyes held each with the intensity lovers could only dream of and of which sinner and victim knew all too well. As Caleb worked his fingers around Will's deceptively small hands, he realized that being killed barehanded by a thirteen year-old girl would be incredibly embarrassing considering what things should have killed him long ago. Thus, in the interest of his pride (not to mention his life,) Caleb began to work Will's fingers off of his throat until he could actually say her name. "Will," he wheezed. "It's meurrguuhh..."

Then again, she was a Guardian of the Veil. That had to count for something. And she had really strong fingers...

He heard a voice shrieking his name and, though he was an only child, it sounded like his little sister.

* * *

Though many best friends claim to possess a preternatural bond (shared feelings, finishing each other's sentences, or buying the same outfit while several states apart) few can lay claim to waking up from a nightmare along with three of said-best friends at exactly the same moment. As Hay Lin was coming to on the kitchen floor, I., T., and C. all shot upright like the bed bugs of myth had launched a synchronized assault on their posteriors complete with satellite imagery. 

Irma rolled out of Hay Lin's bed and collided with Taranee as Cornelia tried to open the door and forgot that it swung in and not out. Once she remembered, all three Guardians stumbled out of the hallway and began running towards the kitchen in their socks and sleep shirts. It was a sight that would have looked right at home in a sleep-over style horror movie, except that any serial killer trying to attack these girls would have been fried, drowned, and beaten to death by a random pieces of wooden furniture simply for getting in their way.

Hay Lin's parents were already asleep and that was fortunate; though the noise one could create in Hanes Her Way socks was limited, the racket Taranee made when she fell down the stairs sounded like a six-foot-five weightlifter had missed the last three steps. Also, the words that came out of Taranee's mouth sounded like they came from the stereotypical foul-mouthed sailor. Thankfully, this was covered up by Joan Lin's snoring.

As they entered the kitchen, they barely noticed that the mud and covers were exactly as Hay Lin mentioned them. The color of the mud, however, frightened them more than it should have, like the dream was crossing over into reality. Still keeping their current speed as they hurried down the stairs to the basement, they managed to keep to the side of the stairs that had the least amount of mud on it, if only to keep from slipping. When they reached the bottom the Water Guardian skidded to a stop at the foot of the stairs, her peers slamming into her not even registering.

For in front of Irma was the most bizarre sight she had ever seen, and that was saying something. Will, clad in a Goofy nightshirt, was struggling like a crazed animal against Caleb who, wearing only the Meridian equivalent of boxer shorts, held her down while a mud-covered pygmy that had to be Blunk and Hay Lin looked on, the latter armed with a box of tampons of the same brand that was stuck in Blunk's ears.

It would have been a great late night comedy skit if she hadn't felt Will's rage and terror the instant she ran down the stairs. It was almost like she was being assaulted... or murdered. But not by Caleb; it rather looked like Will was assaulting _him_.

"What's happening?" Taranee asked. In her fuss she had left her glasses in Hay Lin's room. To her it looked like... well, something besides what it was.

They were about to rush to Caleb's aid when Will went shock-still and passed out onto the bed. Caleb, who was holding her wrists, held them a bit longer until he was sure she was asleep. He then lay her arms alongside her and sucked in air greedily. Cornelia was the first to notice the marks on his arms and the way he rubbed his throat. She stepped past Blunk and gently touched his shoulder. "Caleb..."

He turned and looked at her. His face red and he was breathing heavily; he looked like he had fought a man as heavy as he was instead of a girl half his size. His mouth opened and closed like a fish; Cornelia realized that he was trying to say something. "I... she was having a nightmare. I tried to wake her up and then I turned... and she grabbed me." He looked at the others and Cornelia held her breath; the shadow that covered his throat moved with his jawline and revealed the bruised-covered marks dug by Will's fingers.

Hay Lin had brushed past them and examined Will's pulse, still clutching her crumbled package of tampons like it was that Time of the Month. When she identified that it was strong if a little fast, she surprised Cornelia by wrapping her arms around Caleb's shoulders in visible relief. The nearly naked Caleb at that.

Realizing Cornelia was staring at her, Hay Lin released Caleb and shrugged. "Don't be jealous. He's my brother." Caleb looked at her in surprise, then smiled and nodded as if this was fine by him.

Cornelia was contemplating this unusual development when Yan Lin came flying down the stairs, dressed for bed and her long hair undone and hanging over her face. Without a word, she lay her hand on Will's forehead and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she turned to Blunk and said, "You. Outside. Right now." Blunk complied without a word, retracing his steps up the stairs. "What happened?" Her answer was five voices clamoring over each other like people running through the only fire exit.

"We had this dream..."

"She was tossing and groaning..."

"And she was naked, weird I know..."

"It was a big black space like my closet..."

"And then she strangled me, but it wasn't her..."

"And Irma was bleeding..."

"It... grabbed her and... I..."

"And I burned it as hot as I could..."

"And we were screaming as we flew through it..."

"Girls, please! One at a time! Who was bleeding?"

Hay Lin answered. "Irma. But it was in the dream so... Ohmigod! Irma!"

Everyone's eyes went to Irma. There were sharp intakes of breath from the other girls as Irma lifted her right arm and looked at it dully. Recently dried and still wet blood traced trails down to her hand from five scabbed cuts spaced a few inches apart. Two of the cuts bled out from under the sleeve of her Pluto nightshirt as evidenced by dark splotches, yet the material was unharmed. It was like Irma's skin had sliced itself open on its own. "Huh," Irma said, sounding like she had just noticed a small scratch she didn't remember getting. "That's weird."

Relatively speaking, of course.

* * *

Author's Notes: The inside of the Heart of Candracar was partly inspired by the dream sequence that opens up the comic series where Will is perhaps being christened as the Keeper of the Heart. My version was going for the abstract painting feel of an unnatural landscape. My, don't I sound artsy-fartsy. Chapter three is mostly done but four may take a while. I've actually been working on this story since October and haven't put these up et because I've been distracted by other ideas (see my profile for an explanation.) In fact, this story is part of a trilogy. Later chapters won't be as lengthy of time-consuming to write, hopefully. 


	3. Mourn the Living

Disclaimer: Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin, and W.I.T.C.H. are owned by Disney. I do not own the rights so anything I write is nonprofit and unlikely to happen in the books or show. Much like the hot tub scene at the end of the chapter where the girls discover their true feelings.

Ha! Made you look!

Summary: When a mission goes wrong, Will and the Guardians must confront the darkest parts of their souls or risk losing everything. Sometimes the hardest person to face is yourself...

Author's Note: Just like to thank my reviewers first, because it's always nice to be appreciated. Seriously, has anyone ever said, "I don't want to be appreciated?" It's just not done. It's also taken a while to get this chapter up because kept spitting out my document for some reason; technical difficulties, I guess.

The quote from Chapter Two is from a Chief of the Olgala band of the Sioux who was also an actor who campaigned for respect for Native Americans in the movie industry. He also wrote several books explaining the Sioux beliefs of man and nature, themes that are similar to "Dark Gossamer Wings." I'm quickly becoming a fan of his, though the groundwork for this story was laid before I started researching Standing Bear. I actually found the quote in a video game called Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath. Who says games rot the mind?

Also, the hit counter says that nearly three hundred of y'all have clicked on the story. Why haven't the rest of you reviewed? Does that mean you don't like it? Ouch. Are the chapters too long, or am I just annoying you? As much as I don't want bad reviews, I'd still appreciate constructive criticism if something's alienating over two-hundred readers. Just be gentle, please. On with the story!

* * *

In Sleep we lie all naked and alone, in Sleep we are united at the heart of night and darkness, and we are strange and beautiful asleep; for we are dying the darkness and we know no death. - Thomas Wolfe

* * *

Chapter 3: Mourn the Living

It if the events of the evening weren't ominous enough, the order Mrs. Lin gave the girls was down right shocking.

"Girls, I want you to use your powers to clean up the basement and the kitchen. Be quick about it."

The powers of the Guardians are nature itself, bestowed upon them to aid them in the frontline war against evil. They are _not _household appliances packaged by Hoover and Maytag to aid in cleaning their rooms. While the girls were prone to use them in less-than-respectful pursuits in the name of powers practice (or boys), Mrs. Lin telling them to clean her kitchen was equivalent to Patton telling his tank brigades to smooth out the gravel in his driveway with their treads.

"What?" Yan Lin asked in response to their wide-eyed looks as she tended Irma's injuries. "You'd rather use mops and buckets?"

All doubts forgotten, the Guardians of the Cleaning Rag leapt into action. Well, staggered into action.

Cornelia began by "lifting" the mud from the floor, packing it together until it was the size of volleyball and tossed it out the back door, unknowingly hitting Blunk as he dug in the garbage.

Once patched up, Irma cleaned the floors with a miniature water spout that wobbled and shimmied everywhere that Blunk flung mud; sometimes she would split it into smaller whirlpools to run up counters and the walls of the basement. Luckily, the mud Blunk had tracked in was thick and not easily thrown off. When Irma send the spout waltzing into the alley, it splashed into the Passling and succeeded in washing off what mud the rain hadn't. Taranee and Hay Lin finished up as they dried the floors with heat and breezes.

When it was done the clean-up crew slumped against the kitchen counter. If Irma's cuts weren't already sufficient evidence, their exhaustion was a damning testament to the reality of their ordeal. Even the simple tricks they had used taxed them further; add that to Will's near murder of Caleb and "strung out" was an accurate way to sum up their physical and mental states.

_I wish Elyon could see us now,_ Taranee thought as she poured a glass of water. _See the fun she thought we were having without her and what her brother does when he's not cooing over her. On second thought_, she said to herself as she drank greedily, _she doesn't _deserve_ to see us like this. Probably wouldn't understand what it means to hurt. She had a pretty good life here to begin with._

Taranee was interrupted from her dark musings when Yan Lin came into the kitchen. Caleb was still in the basement with Will, despite Cornelia's thinly-disguised urgings for him to come with her away from the crazy girl. "I'll be fine," he said, waving off her concern and actually joked, "I know her moves now." Cornelia had not found this amusing in the slightest but relented when she realized it went against his nature to leave a man (or girl) behind.

_Unlike me_, she had thought with a whimper. None of the other girls had realized what she had done; Cornelia was stuck between wanting to confess her sin and never saying a word for as long as she lived. She consoled herself by saying it wasn't the right time; what the right time was she hadn't specified yet. It was looking to be sometime after her death in the form of a tell-all entry in her last (ironically) will and testament.

Weird, she thought, how many times her name was used over the course of the day by people. It seemed that Cornelia was going to surrounding by people chanting an unconscious mantra to her. _I will, you will, we will, she will..._ Cornelia began to nibble on her carefully manicured fingernails.

"Alright girls, I need you to pick one of you to tell me what happened," Yan Lin said, obviously remembering the mess that had occurred last time.

There was a darting around of gazes until the rest of the Guardians looked squarely at Taranee, probably because she was the least exhausted. Taranee was surprised at the nomination but realized that there was little point in arguing.

Clearing her throat, she began with how they were torn out of their dreams and flung into the black space Irma called the Closet, described how she then led them to what they now coined the Wasteland, shuddered as she described the battles against and the flight from the Infection, and finally ended with the horrifying spectacle in the basement. The others chimed in with their own bits and pieces from time to time. When she was done she downed the rest of the water and looked at Yan Lin, expecting her to explain everything.

Yan Lin, for the first time since the Guardians had met her, looked old. Even Hay Lin had never seen her look so tired, having not been born until after her grandfather died. In a way, Yan Lin was mourning another passing; a large piece of her charges' innocence was now gone. What was worse, they didn't even realize it. The black dragon's corpse stirred.

"I see," she said. It wasn't the tell-all they were hoping for. Truthfully, they wanted diagrams and spreadsheets that Yan Lin indicated with one of those laser pointers, saying "This is why this happened" and "This is what will happen next and here is what we will do." "I see" was somewhat vague, and vague was not vogue with them. Especially now.

Hay Lin led the charge for clarification. "What was that thing? It had to have come from the Shard, I just know it."

Yan Lin shrugged. "We know so little about the Mage Inimini. The secrecy of his experiments was his most enduring legacy."

"Maybe we were in the Shard, wherever it was?"Irma suggested.

Yan Lin shook her head. "No, from what Taranee described as the 'Closet' and the 'Wasteland,' I am certain that you were inside the Heart of Candracar."

"What!" Four voices cried as one. Yan winced as she stuck a finger in her ear. Was hers ever that high? Thank the Oracle that her daughter-in-law snored so loudly.

"But it's so... tiny," Irma said, indicating the size of the aforementioned jewel with her index finger and thumb.

"Not physically inside the Heart, mind you. Your minds and spirits were pulled into it by Will's cry for help. Irma's injuries are the result of her astral form 'knowing' it was injured and relaying that information to the body."

"Like 'The Matrix'!" Hay Lin said. The other girls nodded; it made as much sense as anything her grandmother could say. "That would explain why we transformed. But Grandma, how do you know what the inside of the Heart looks like?"

Yan Lin smiled. "Remember, I used to be a Guardian myself. If I told you all of my stories, we'd be up all night. I need my beauty sleep at this age."

"But how could that _thing_ be inside the Heart?" Taranee asked. "That's like bacteria inside a bottle of hydrogen peroxide."

Yan Lin's smile faded. "That I do not understand. The Heart should have been able to destroy the Infection on its own. That it carried Will's voice to you indicated that it could not. Curious."

"Well, it's over, right?" Cornelia pressed. "It's over and done, right?" If any of them needed it to be over and done with, it was her.

"But why was Will choking Caleb if it was dead?" Irma asked, the image of the assault flashing before her eyes.

"We will have to wait and see what Will says when she awakens. As difficult as it must be for you, you must go back to bed. In times such as this, rest is as important as action."

"I think I'll stay down in the basement with Caleb and Will," Hay Lin said. The others looked at her in mild surprise. "Just in case."

Irma smirked "Well, you are his kid sister. Caleb Lin?"

Yan Lin looked over at her granddaughter with an amused expression. Hay Lin rolled her eyes. "Oh, like you haven't already adopted him, too."

* * *

As it happened, it wasn't difficult for them to fall asleep at all. Drained more than they had ever been in the lives, they were out like lights when their heads hit the pillows. Caleb, now dressed in his sleep pants and an ancient _No Fear_ t-shirt, was also splayed out asleep on his air mattress when Hay Lin went back into the basement. Apparently, he wasn't afraid of the Big Bad Will. 

Or, more likely, he was too tired to care; if Hannibal Lecter was sleeping in the only bed in the building, any one of them would have asked him to scoot over. Hay Lin made sure they were both sufficiently covered before she attended to her own sleeping arrangements, keeping Will's hands in her sight as a precaution.

She barely got a second air mattress inflated (in two breaths this time) and was strongly tempted to just crash next to Big Bro Caleb or even Will the Heatherfield Strangler. As it happened, she didn't even change into sleepwear as she collapsed onto the mattress and wrapped herself up in sheets. The last thing she saw before drifting off was her adopted brother and best friend sleeping peacefully, an odd and welcome contrast to the scene she had run in on earlier.

* * *

Morning came quickly and it stinked. Literally. 

"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!"

Caleb grunted as he awoke to the fragrant smell of rotted out gym socks. Though sure to wake you up, it was not exactly a smell Folgers would advertise for their coffee. _Blunk_, he thought as he sat up and glared at the Passling, the word as foul in his mind as an obscene curse. Caleb was many things, but definitely _not_ a morning person.

"Wha tha hail Ar. Yu due-in her dis errlee?" he muttered, half-asleep despite the aroma. He must have had a rough night last night; his arms and legs still ached and his throat was raw. Why was... oh, right. Will. Caleb looked past Blunk and saw that she was still asleep, looking neither peaceful or disturbed. Just... there. If her chest wasn't rising and falling…

"Blunk check up on Will! Bring candy that tastes like boot!" Blunk waved a black box at Caleb. With his limited knowledge of written English he wasn't sure what they were and, frankly, he didn't care.

He cleared his throat. _Strong little hands on that girl..._ "That's great, Blunk, I'm sure Will will love them. Leave them here and get out."

"Okay!" Blunk leapt over Caleb's bed (causing Caleb to cover his nose and mouth to avoid gagging), placed the "candy" gently on Hay Lin's mattress, and ran up the stairs.

Caleb blinked in surprise at the sight of Hay Lin lying on an air mattress next to his. He was wondering what she was doing down here when she shivered and pulled her bare legs up to her chest. Seeing that she had thrown her covers off, Caleb reached over and tugged them back over her slight form. As he watched his "little sister" sleep, he couldn't help but smile at her peaceful expression.

Having only his father around for most of his life had kept him from connecting to a female on a familial level. While he was experienced in wooing girls romantically, the Lin women had brought to his attention a wholly different affection for the opposite sex.

He could admit to himself that he actually cared deeply for Hay Lin, not as a potential lover but in a way that was pure and free from the urgings of the flesh. Yan Lin was one of a few women that had ever bossed him around; she just happened to be extremely good at it. As much he grunted and feigned indifference, some traitorous part of his spirit actually _liked_ their manipulations.

Caleb lay back against the air mattress and looked over at Will. The Guardians were unknown territory for him in many ways. Caleb's relationships with females before them could be broken into two categories; professional, when he dealt with those in the resistance and, well, _not_ professional when he wooed beautiful girls.

The Guardians took everything he _thought_ he knew about women and turned it on its head, spinning it around for good measure until it couldn't see straight. He was supposed to work with them professionally in the interests of saving his kingdom and their worlds, yet they were so _un_professional that Caleb had a hard time believing that any higher power would have picked them for such an important task. Feelings for the Earth Guardian aside, each of the other Guardians interacted with him differently, thus increasing the categories of females he had to deal with to an uncomfortable number.

Will, thankfully, was the most level-headed, as befitting her position as Keeper of the Heart. Despite Cornelia's dissent, Caleb was regularly impressed with how she lead the others and her grasp of strategy and tactics. As mature as Will was, she was still prone to the irrational fears that seemed to plague the group and apparently most girls on this crazy planet.

She liked this Matt Olsen; why not tell him? If he didn't reciprocate, forget him and move on. As much as Caleb liked the bard's unusual "Rok" music, he was not pleased that Matt served as a distraction to Will's duties. It sounded cold, but it was also about Will's happiness as well. A happy Guardian was a better Guardian than a depressed one, Caleb told himself when he wondered why he cared. And he almost believed it.

Irma was by far the furthest from the women he had known in Meridian. Always saying what was on her mind, Caleb could appreciate her position as the comic relief for the Guardians; every squad needed someone to entertain the troops or, in Cornelia's case, distract with frustration. However, she also sassed him pretty fiercely and was even more opposed to a serious mind set than the rest of them. Her wit was sharp, sharper than Caleb's, and this made it easy for her to make him look like a fool. Naturally, the others didn't take him seriously when she did this. Irma was a born warrior, that he couldn't deny, but he doubted she ever took anything completely seriously.

Taranee, Caleb wasn't sure about. Intelligent enough to be a scholar in Meridian, her knowledge of what Earth people called "physics" had proved invaluable. And yet she was quiet, somewhat subdued when talking to Caleb alone, as if she was unnerved by him. Openness was a trait that was vital in a small unit such as theirs, and the fact that she was anxious around him was worrying. Almost as worrying as the fact that Caleb considered himself part of their group. A sudden image of himself in green-and-purple tights made him shake his head vigorously and unconciously squeeze his legs together.

Cornelia... she haunted him sometimes. She wasn't the type of girl he would have thought to be the one he... fell for. She was beautiful, yes, but she had no conscious sense of duty and seemed disgusted with her role as a Guardian. She was intelligent but rarely used it, wrongly believing her "fashion sense" to be her real gift. It was like everything he saw in Cornelia that he liked was of little consequence to her, or she didn't see it. It gave the disturbing impression that Cornelia didn't know herself and was actually playing a part she had made up years ago.

If that was the case, how could he tell if her feelings were actually real and not part of the act? Caleb knew he was handsome, he just never dwelled on it or advertised it. Was he just a "catch" to Cornelia? Did she care about his feelings at all? Even amorous Caleb had felt genuine affection towards the other young ladies he'd courted; some he had wanted to be more than what they were but he could not risk their safety by making the visits a habit. Love'em and leave'em was, regrettably, his style. At least he left them smiling, he mused wryly.

Cornelia was different because she was (and he hated to admit it) an even bigger target than Caleb. How could he endanger her when she was already in mortal peril herself? In a strange way it freed him from his conscience and allowed him to think about something he generally dared not to: the future.

Sometimes, when his thoughts were unguarded, he wondered what their children would look like. He knew women didn't marry as early on Earth and that such a union was years from now but it felt good, so _damn_ good to actually dream for once. To not have waking nightmares about a man he hated and consider spending a future with a beautiful woman and their children. And those times, when he dared to dream, he was more afraid of Cornelia than Phobos. Dying was easy, inevitable, and Caleb feared death like most people feared the common cold; having his heart broken was a risk that he was afraid to take.

Hay Lin was, well, the sister. His only real complaint with her was that she treated him like a _younger_ brother and tried to strangle him with her apron strings. Little things like _You need more covers, where's your coat, eat more noodles, was that a cough, oh god is that _your _blood _and so on. Again, he sorta liked it. To an extent.

And like with Irma, when she did in front of the others it made them respect him less. Caleb was no fool that thought he was always right; the ambush at Torus Filney had made that painfully clear. He just couldn't shake the feeling that things would be a lot easier with him in charge; he would have whisked Elyon away to Meridian the instant he knew her name.

Of course, Hay Lin would have told him that she'd hate him for it and probably join Phobos out of spite. Caleb knew attack plans and strategies, but Hay Lin knew people better than he did. Worse, she seemed to know _Caleb_ better than he did.

In Meridian, a woman that could cook and sew with Hay Lin's skill would be chased after by every man in a riding's distance; the fact that she had a kind heart as well would have run them to death. And even then they'd have to go through a rigorous examination by Caleb before beginning a courtship. Only the best for his little sister.

In another of the strange ways that seemed to happen around the Guardians, they all seemed to be parts of his perfect woman: Will's humility and quiet strength, Irma's soft masculinity and playful outlook, Taranee's intelligence and beguiling shyness, Cornelia's dignity and confidence, and Hay Lin's maternal warmth and gentleness all added up like the acronym of their names to throw him completely off-balance.

And they were all damn cute as well and looking to become more beautiful with age. Any one of them would make a fine partner, though only Cornelia gave any indication that she thought of him as a possible consort and even then he wasn't sure exactly what she wanted from him.

_Girls_. How was it they managed to make life so complicated and yet sweeter at the same time?

Still sore but more or less rested (and tired of thinking useless thoughts that only drove him crazy), Caleb decided to get up. As he gathered his Earth clothes he glanced around the basement for something to change behind. Finding little cover, he rolled his eyes when he realized that the girls had probably seen ninety percent of him last night anyway. Still, he stacked two crates on top of each other to obscure half of him at least. He realized it was what his relationship with the Guardians was like: all the control he had was illusionary.

It was sort of like a marriage. With five wives. No lovemaking, of course, but Caleb now sympathized with the many hen-pecked husbands in both worlds.

He was pulling his shirt down when Hay Lin stirred and snorted; her signal for "I'm-about-to-wake-up-and-there-better-be-food." She sat up and looked blearily around the basement, obviously not recognizing her surroundings. She uttered a noise that might have been a question. When Caleb said, "Good morning," she lolled her head around to where he was standing. Her memory must have returned, since she snapped her gaze to Will as she replied, "Morning. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he lied. "What are you doing down here?"

"Huh? Oh. Well, I was worried. About Will, I mean. Figured it wouldn't hurt to have two... you know, this is my home, I can sleep where I want," she replied sharply as she planted her fists on her hips and made a face at him, managing to look cuter instead of threatening. Her false outrage was better than saying, _Because I was scared for you, big brother_.

Caleb fought the smile that threatened to subject him to a beating by her tiny fists. "Of course, of course. My mistake. You know, you could have slept with me. Uh, instead of getting another mattress, I mean."

Hay Lin snorted again, this time intentionally. "And have Cornelia beat the tar out of me? No thanks." The Caleb/Cornelia topic was like the Area 51 of their group: it was the best kept secret everyone knew about.

Hay Lin rose and walked over to him, her gait jerky with the movements of the barely conscious. She looked even more like a zombie than Caleb had last night. Once close enough she took his chin in her fingers and examined the marks on his neck, checking one side and then the other by moving his head. Caleb had been through this before; the Lin women didn't trust him to be honest about his condition and often chose to inspect him themselves without even asking permission. His affrontment had lessened into amusement over time. "Hmmmm. Looks better. Is it sore?"

"A little," he admitted. She'd be suspicious if he said "no." "Maybe we should check Will out first?"

She gave him a _Don't-Start_ look as she turned and walked over to Will. Relieved to be done with his examination, Caleb walked over to her air mattress and picked up Blunk's candy as Yan Lin came down the stairs. She greeted Caleb (her eyes darting to the "candy" for a second) before walking over to Will and Hay Lin. She quietly exchanged some words with her granddaughter and placed her hand on Will's forehead.

They both looked at Caleb critically, Hay Lin smirking a little at Caleb's confusion. She whispered something to Yan Lin and then left the basement, whistling suspiciously as she walked by Caleb. He glared at her but her only reaction was to grin. His glare turned to a worried look when she started up the stairs. This couldn't be good.

Yan Lin glanced toward Caleb. She looked at the box in his hand as she spoke. "I am glad to see that you are taking precautions, Caleb. That is very responsible of you. You should know that those are not always effective." She then left the basement, leaving Caleb and Will alone.

Caleb looked at the box with no small amount of amusement. Candy that didn't always work? Earth people: what a bunch of loons.

Popping open the box, he pulled out one of the items and evaluated it. It looked similar to the "ball-loons" people on Earth used for parties, only flatter and wrapped in a plastic wrapper. Caleb scratched his head as he sounded out the big letters on the box. "Tuh... Row... Jan. Trojan. Huh." Weird name for candy.

* * *

"And then Blunk says, 'Me give one to Will' and I'm like, 'NO, you don't know how to use them,'" Hay Lin said as she fixed her friends breakfast. "And he sticks two of them in his ears and tells me that Will only needs one cause she's, and I'm quoting this, 'too tall for two.'" 

The other Guardians broke into muted laughter. They were sitting at a counter in the kitchen and eating breakfast while Hay Lin related one of the actually amusing events of the previous night before everything went to the Bad Place in a fanny pack. Laughter was the salve that kept their nerves from frazzling to the point of professional help, and since professional help would not be an option, the girls acted as their own therapists. It was cheaper at least.

Irma popped open the top of her miniature box of Corn Pops and grinned. "So, Blunk knows as much about tampons as the next guy, then." More quiet laughter. "Come to think of it, he was carrying something when he came through earlier. Did you guys see what?"

They shook her heads and mumbled "nosh" through mouths full of sugar-coated flour as Caleb emerged from the basement. He greeted the girls, said he was fine in response to their queries, and accepted a piece of toast from Hay Lin, ignoring the "Awwwww" from Irma at the display of sisterly devotion. He devoured his toast quickly and was reaching for another when Hay Lin noticed the box. "What's that in your hand, Caleb?"

Caleb shook his head and held up a "Trojan" he'd opened but not tasted. "I don't know; Blunk said they were candy. I think they go around the tongue..." He stopped when he realized that the girls were staring at him with wide-eyed expressions. "What?"

Taranee cleared her throat and said shakily, "Caleb, that's not candy."

"Oh? What is it, then? Some kind of finger glove?" Caleb slipped his finger into the "Trojan" and wiggled it.

Irma coughed up her cereal as she guffawed at the sight. Cornelia had covered her eyes before the wiggling commenced and was groaning at whatever Irma was laughing at. Taranee was struck with a sudden urge to inspect her toes, as if the Infection may have snapped some off.

Once again playing the game of "Snatch the Package from the Ignorant Meridianite", Hay Lin took the box from Caleb and briefly considered taking the "finger glove" as well, before her squeamishness said, "nuh uh!" Feeling she had to explain, but scared to death of revealing the truth, Hay Lin gulped before she started.

"These arrrrr... not really candy, but they can go in the mmmmooou... they're called c-c-cooonnnd-d-doms. Condoms. They're used, uh, by men. Men like you," she unnecessarily clarified. Caleb raised his eyebrows, wondering how many different kinds of men there were on Earth. "For... keeping you from... having children." She laughed weakly.

Caleb started and stared at the thing on his hand like it was poisonous. He ripped it off as fast as possible and flung it away blindly. "Blindly" being in the direction of Taranee, who squealed in fright at the contraceptive and ran toward a distant corner of the kitchen.

Irma was now laughing so hard she fell off her stool onto the linoleum floor, where she continued to chortle despite her bruised hip and the Corn Pops in her mouth. Cornelia wondered briefly why all guys were such dorks; even Caleb wasn't immune to the Y chromosome that kept him from being perfect.

"No, not like that! That's not how they work, they go on your-oh, god, I can't do this! Irma, help!" Irma, unlike Hay Lin, had very little shame.

The Shameless One hauled herself to her feet, still looking incredibly amused. "Alright, babe, I'll take over." Taking the box from Hay Lin and beckoning Caleb away from the other girls with a crooked finger, she leaned in close and whispered a hasty explanation as she gestured to symbols on the box. Caleb's expression went from inquisitive to surprised to incredulous. Finally, they rejoined the group. "By Jove, I think he's got it."

Caleb had a lot more questions he wanted to ask, but this wasn't the best time. There probably wasn't a good time considering they, with the exception of Irma, seemed to be terrified of these things. Maybe they were uncomfortable for, er, the woman...

More than once Caleb had wished there was a male from Earth he could converse with about things such as this. If what Irma told him was correct, walkie talkies and ice cream were the least of the wonders in this dimension. Still, first things first. "I want to apologize for my ignorance. I didn't mean to seem obscene."

In another of a list of shocks, Caleb apologizing for something he didn't know was a doozy. On most days, anyway. Today, they each said the equivalent of "no biggie." Irma smirked as she read the directions on the box of condoms. "What's he doing, knocking over a pharmacy?"

Cornelia's eyes narrowed. "I hope not. The last thing we need is that face on 'America's Most Wanted.'"

"He said he was getting them out of the trash," Hay Lin offered. "I think they're past their expiration dates. If they have them." _She _wasn't going to check to see if they did.

Irma smirked evilly. "Here, have a look." She tossed the box at Hay Lin, who shrieked and hid behind Cornelia. "So not funny, Irma!"

Caleb looked at them like a anthropologist trying to figure out an alien race. Which, technically, they were.

Men are from Meridian, and women are from Oracle Knows Where.

* * *

The next hour was spent doing laundry before the restaurant opened for the Saturday crowd. Caleb hurried through his pre-lunch chores so he could tend to Will, though the most he could do for her was place an arm back after it slid off the mattress. He watched her sleep and listened to her breathing as if he, like Hay Lin, could divine something from the flow of air. After a few minutes he began to talk to her, hoping but not believing that he could wake her with his words. His apologies. 

"I swear to you, Will, on the grave of my mother, thatwhatever it takes I'll... I'll make it up to you." A growl. "That sounds so... lame, is that the word? I... you aren't going to die for me, understand? You're going to wake up, that's one order you better follow, you stuck-up Earth girl. You're too important to Meridian, to the other girls, to..."

Fists tightened, then released. "We're a lot alike, Will. We've gotten so used to suffering we've hardened our hearts and we try to fool others into thinking we're something we're not. I know, Will, I _know. _You never have to hide your fears from me; I share them, too. So don't you go and leave me alone, okay? The others don't understand what it's like... I knew from the start that you were going to be something else."

A laugh. "You were stubborn enough to make me believe there was a chance. Phobos may have the power, but if it was a contest of wills you'd take him apart. Probably with your bare hands. You'd better tell me how you got so strong when you wake up; you've wounded my pride by nearly throttling me last night. How's it gonna look if it gets out that the leader of the rebellion nearly lost to a scrawny little thing like you? You know what? I'm gonna call you names until you wake up..."

"Caleb?" He looked up. Taranee was there on the stairs, looking vaguely embarrassed. "How's she doing?"

"No change." He rose. "Are you all about to leave?"

"Not yet. Mrs. Lin wants us to try something first." Taranee adjusted her glasses nervously. "She thinks we can make an Astral Drop of Will to send to her home... and of course we'll have to educate it a little first."

"Couldn't one of you spend the night with it? Uh, her?"

"We already thought of that," Taranee said in slightly condescending voice. It was slightly uncharacteristic of her, probably a side effect of last night. "I have a family night tonight, and before you say skip it I've missed the last two already. Irma needs study time or she'll fail history. Cornelia is technically grounded for missing curfew three days in a row. Hay Lin's parents, well, you know how her father is."

"Surely one of you... I mean, those are just..."

"Just normal things that girls our age do and deal with." Taranee said, her eyes flashing displeasure behind her glasses. "And when we don't do those things, our parents ask questions. And my parents won't stop until they get answers."

"Okay, I'm sorry..." Caleb realized too late that he had opened what Earth people called a "can of worms". Worms on Earth could be very vicious, apparently. Mudslug vicious. Especially the females.

"No, you're not. You think it's all a bunch of crap that we use to drive you crazy, but it's not. It's our _lives_, Caleb. We have to pretend we're not what we are and that we're still our parents' little girls." Taranee was no longer talking to him but herself. "And so we lie. I never once lied to my parents before... this. Now I lie all the time."

Caleb was so stunned he even forgot about Will momentarily. He had never actually thought that the Guardians felt that way. Between the smart remarks and the apathy they displayed it had seemed like they were aloof and misdirected; Taranee, at least, was feeling the weight of her position as well as the strain of having to keep it secret.

Once, when they had been particularly annoyed with Caleb, he had suggested they take it up with Phobos, as he was the real cause of their troubles. He had firmly believed that _then_, but Taranee's slip caused him to reconsider his position on just who was to blame for the disruption in their lives.

Caleb knew little about Candracar since the raising of the Veil to separate Meridian from the rest of the universe also overshadowed all stories of the place. He knew there was an Oracle that presided over a Council and watched over the universe. He didn't know how Guardians were chosen, or why. He knew they were young girls from Earth, much like the nymph who had created the Heart of Candracar in Yan Lin's story. He had assumed that the Guardians would have been like the women in the rebellion: battle-hardened and stoic.

This was not the case. For months he had silently asked the Oracle _why them_? Now the question took on a whole new meaning: why these innocents that did not deserve this pain? To force the mantle of Guardians on them seemed as tyrannical as Phobos.

A slow, burning anger began to build in him at the outrageousness of it all. What kind of benevolent Oracle could do this to them? What kind of being would push them into danger without explanations or sympathy? Did he see them as not people but weapons to point at his enemies? What kind of man could do that and still call himself a man?

And his answer came to him in the lenses of Taranee's glasses like a face in a crystal ball. Hardened eyes, unruly hair and angular features full of concealed anger revealed the kind of man that would do all these things and then call the girls "ungrateful."

"Uh, Caleb?" He blinked, and so did the man. He saw past the obsessed soul and into Taranee's slightly nervous eyes. "Is something wrong?"

He wasn't sure how to answer, shaken by the knowledge he now possessed. "...No, nothing. Just thinking. You're right, of course. I was being unfair. _Been_ unfair, for a while now."

"Oh. Well... thanks. We understand, I mean, you've got a lot to deal with, being a leader of a rebellion. Like you were telling Will. Oops! I wasn't eavesdropping or anything..."

"I know. So... when are you going to do the Astral Drop?"

"In fifteen minutes. Well, ten now. Oh! I forgot. Hay Lin wanted me to help her set the tables. I'd better go." She turned to leave.

"Wait!" She stopped and looked back at him curiously. "I know you hate lying, Taranee, but think about what would happen if your parents knew the truth. They'd worry about you regardless of whether you're in danger or not. Sometimes we have to protect people from things they don't need to know."

She stared at him, seemingly uncertain of what to make of this new Caleb; Caleb knew how she felt. Slowly, she smiled. "You're right. Thanks, Caleb. And we don't blame you for acting the way you do; you didn't ask for any of this either."

As she walked up the stairs, Caleb wondered if she was wrong. Maybe he did deserve some of the blame. True, he hadn't been the one to force the Guardians into their roles. He hadn't helped the transistion, though. When you were the leader of hundreds of warriors, the first trait to go dim was your empathy. How could you send people to their possible deaths unless you removed your attachment to them? Just how much had he given up already? He felt he needed to talk to his father about this before he made another command decision.

Caleb turned to Will and knelt next to the bed. Taking her hand and squeezing it gently, he said softly, "Well, isn't that a kickin the stones. It looks like I'm going to be making up quite a few things to everyone. Probably take the rest of my life to do it. I hope we get the chance."

She sighed in her sleep and squeezed back. He took this as an affirmative _Damn right you will_.

* * *

There was a certain unwritten rule among W.I.T.C.H. that stated that no one touched the Heart without Will's consent. This was not instated by Will herself or even mentioned aloud among the other Guardians. With the exceptions of Will's kidnapping and Cornelia's theft of the talisman to visit Elyon during the Mogriffs incident, no one had attempted to use the Heart except Will. 

Though she lacked the offensive punch of the others, Will was the only one who could use the Heart to it's fullest extent; only Will could close portals and transform them into their Guardian forms. The other girls could interact with the Heart in a limited capacity but not always with the desired results: Cornelia's Astral Drop had been even more clueless than the usual copies the girls had made, lacking even her basic personality.

Or common sense. Irma had commented that the Drop probably wouldn't have been able to cross a street without cue cards, a G.P.S. locator, and a whole brigade of boy scouts. When it came to the magical jewel there was no doubt in their minds that Will was the Heart's favorite.

So it was with a little anxiety that I.T.C.H. took the talisman from its nail on the wall and prepared to make a temporary Will to fill in for their leader. Uncertain about who should handle it, they compromised by having Hay Lin hold it in her open palms and the others placed their left hands on top of it, all while making sure they had Will in their sight.

"Making an Astral Drop is liking writing a story," Yan Lin said, her voice taking on the tone that appeared whenever she talked about magic: reverent yet light. "When you've made Drops before, you were only thinking about your appearance. That is simple enough; it is like, saying, 'Her hair is red.' To give her life, you must write down her emotions and her dreams, her fears, her mannerisms... everything that makes her who she is."

Hay Lin furrowed her brow in worry. "That sounds really hard."

The former Guardian smiled. "It's not as difficult as you would think. Think of the Astral Drop as having chapters, each dealing with a certain aspect of Will's life. Chapter one would be those closest to her: her mother and you girls. Chapter two is how she treats friends and strangers. Chapter three is her dreams..."

"Matt Olsen," Taranee said with a grin.

"Er, perhaps we'll skip that one." Personal experience had taught Yan Lin that romance and Astral Drops were a bad combination. "Chapter four is her fears. What does she fear?"

"Math?" Hay Lin offered.

"A minor fear but important. What else worries her?"

The Guardians were silent as they tried to figure out what Will's greatest fear was. It was Caleb who spoke. "She fears failure. That she can't handle the responsibility."

Everyone except Yan Lin looked at him in surprise; it was she that asked him, "And how would you know this, Caleb?"

He didn't answer right away. "All leaders fear that." It was as close as an explanation as he cared to give. The girls looked at him strangely, wondering where this insight had come from. "What?"

Yan Lin nodded. "Thank you, Caleb. Chapter five is habits; a gesture, a phrase, her interests, her hobbies. Picture these chapters in your minds and send them into the Heart. Then, when you feel ready, say the word to create the Drop."

The Guardians pictured the chapters that made up Will Vandom and tried to send them into the Heart, feeling a little ridiculous as they did but holding their focus steady for fear of compromising the Astral Drop.

"Ready?" Hay Lin asked.

"Ready," the others responded.

As one, they said, "Pord Lartsa." Beneath their hands the Heart of Candracar flashed once. A pink light surrounded Will and then ripped away from her to float between them. An outline of a person appeared in the light and began to fill in like a developing photograph.

Slowly, Will Vandom appeared, dressed in the same Goofy nightshirt as the original. Her eyes were closed and her back ramrod-straight, looking like a life-size mannequin of their friend. With a sudden intake of breath, the Drop opened her eyes and stared at them with obvious recognition.

Irma barely stopped herself from saying, "It's alive!"

"Will" took in all their expectant looks and said, "What? Is my nose too big?" She pinched her sniffer to check, her eyes crossing as she tried to examine it.

The Guardians broke from each other, Hay Lin holding the Heart of Candracar in her hand. "Um, no," she said, "you look fine. Just like her. Do you know who you are?"

"Wall, yah," "Will" said in a slightly nasal voice. "Ahm on Astrahl Drop ah Weel Vandomh. Ooo guys arr Irmah, Tarahnee, Korneliah, and Ha-Linah. That's Calep and that's Mizzus Linah. Somthun hoppened to Weel and ooo mod me to covor for har. Wight?" The tone and the expression could have been Will reciting a homework assignment in class. In her sleepwear. While pinching her nose.

"Wow," Irma said. "We're good." She gestured for "Will" to remove her fingers from her nose, but the Astral Drop missed the hint.

Yan Lin looked impressed. "You girls have done well. Now, "Will", we must get you dressed. Are you hungry?"

"Not wheely." She finally let go of her nose, mainly because her arm was getting tired. "Well, I guess. It's a little hard to tell." Her stomach growled and she flushed in embarrassment just like Will would have. "I guess so."

Yan Lin picked up Will's pile of laundered clothes from one of the crates Caleb had changed behind. "Let us hurry. Will's mother will be here shortly to pick her, er, you up..."

"Okay!" "Will took her Goofy shirt by its bottom and pulled it over her head and off her body in one smooth motion. All she wore underneath were undershorts and a short top with frogs dancing all over them. Caleb got a good look before he remembered himself and whirled around to stare at a brick wall. The girls were all a little taken back by this exhibitionist streak with exception of a distracted Hay Lin, who was staring open-mouthed at "Will's" chest, obviously enthralled.

"How cute! Little froggies!" She had been too worried to notice when they had undressed Will last night. "I want some like that!" For a second the others worried that "Will" would take them off and give them to her.

Irma blinked at the seemingly unabashed "Will" like she was out-of-focus. "Well, maybe she's not _exactly_ like Will..."

"Will" just shrugged as she pulled on her pants. "What? It's just you guys and Caleb. I'm not going to run around naked or anything. Unless Will does that. Does she?" She looked around for confirmation. When they shook their heads, she finished dressing and walked over to Will.

Caleb sucked in a breath as he turned around. "Are you _sure_ no one can stay with her?"

"NO," four voices replied sharply, the girls looking angrily at Caleb instead of "Will". "Will" knelt next to her template and gazed at her with an unreadable expression. Lightly, gently, she cupped Will's cheek in her hand and smiled faintly. Will shivered and groaned, as if touched by a cold wind.

"Uh, Will?"

"Will" stiffened, then turned and looked at Hay Lin blankly. "Yes?"

"You okay? It must be hard for you, seeing her like this. It must feel like it's you there, like a twin."

"Yes... yes it does." "Will" looked back at Will. "But I have a feeling she won't be like this for long."

* * *

When Susan Vandom had decided to move to Heatherfield she knew she would dock her pay at Simultech by a thousand a year. That was why she was driving a six year-old car with close to ninety-five thousand miles on it instead of trading up for something that actually had a CD player. Back in Fadden Hills she had connections, friends, a social life, high-paying job offers from rival firms... the decision to move to Heatherfield was so illogical it qualified as paradigm shift in a lifetime of good judgement (barring her decision to marry Thomas Vandom.) It was, as one of her coworkers had tactfully put it, _insane_. 

Susan knew it wasn't insanity that drove her; it was love. Love for the one thing she never regretted from her failed marriage: Wilhelmina.

Her daughter had been miserable and hurt, ostracized from her friends and torn apart by the stormy post-marital relationship of her parents. Every time Susan thought she heard Will crying in her room she would arrive a moment too late and her baby would be pretending to be asleep; fully-clothed and the lights on, but she still tried to convince her mother that she was unconscious to avoid the questions she couldn't answer. Questions like, _what's wrong _and _how do I make it better_?

Fadden Hills was a safe place to live, very clean, good schools, but it was also... competitive. Uncaring. Family meant a lot, yearly earnings meant more, and Susan's net worth did not erase the fact that her ex-husband was a scum of the earth that had caused enough financial troubles for enough people in town to permanently taint his family's reputation. Simultech was a multinational corporation; the bad deals of one local man barely registered on its radar and Susan, being a model employee, had felt none of the backlash from Thomas Vandom's mistakes other than a ruined marriage.

Will, however, went to school with many of the children whose families had been hurt by the scandals. Her peers had made the simplistic leap of logic that, as her father's daughter, she was somehow part of the problem they were facing. Add that to the lack of interest from Thomas and Will was cutting herself off from people, including her mother.

When she picked Will up from school that afternoon she had pretended not to notice that Will's eyes were red and her cheeks raw with dried tears. As they drove home she mentioned how awful the weather was in this town; Will hadn't responded. They had drove home in silence that remained through dinner until a radio announcement had cheerfully told them about a city named Heatherfield.

Low crime-rate, high ratings in living standards, good schools, beautiful countryside, and, most importantly, an award for the friendliest city in its region... it sounded so good that Susan had wanted to live there with her daughter. And then she thought, _why not_?

Figuring that softening her up was a waste of time, Susan had gently asked Will if she would mind moving to another town. She had looked at her mother with a blank stare and said, "I'd rather be anywhere but here."

That was all Susan needed to know.

Within a week they had moved to Heatherfield. Will was jolted out of her lethargic state by the change in venue and the fact that no one in the whole city knew who she was. When she called Susan on her cellphone and said she was going out with some girls to a Chinese restaurant, Susan had calmly gave her permission and told her "I love you." She then hung up her phone and let out a victory whoop that scared the people in the surrounding cars. Fortunately, she was stuck in traffic at the time.

Within days Will was staying out late and coming home looking like she was grateful to be setting foot in the apartment. She no longer cried at night or at any other time; often she was asleep as soon as she crawled into bed, snoring loud enough to reanimate corpses. She called the other girls constantly (who Susan learned had christened themselves "W.I.T.C.H" after their initials) to set up meetings and activities. Susan was thrilled.

Initially. She wasn't sure when it happened, but somewhere between their arrival in Heatherfield and a few weeks after Will... changed. Not the change that happened when they first arrived in Heatherfield but something... else. The grades dropping was the first sign; Susan had chalked this up to a little negligence, perfectly normal for a girl rediscovering her spirit.

That alone wasn't a problem, but then there were the strange outings the girls (Susan had mentally began to call them W.I.T.C.H.) went on; not to the movies or the mall but other places they never talked about around her. Sometimes Will came home with a faint odor of garbage on her; Susan had begun to suspect that W.I.T.C.H. was hanging out at a literal _dump,_ of all places.

And then there was that boy, the one that sometimes walked Will home. Caleb was his name and while he didn't seem particularly dangerous, there was something about his eyes that she wasn't sure she liked. Those were the kind of eyes that had seen pain, too much pain to be healthy. Those eyes could have been Will's after a few more years in Fadden Hills or Susan's without her daughter to love after her divorce: hard and cold, and not entirely comfortable with softer emotions but well-acquainted with harder ones like hate.

He was polite, though, and Will seemed relaxed around him, almost like being around Caleb made her feel safer. In truth, Susan wasn't sure what it was that made her wary of him. The fact that he had the support of the Lins made it easier to accept him, since Chen Lin was as overprotective a parent as she had ever met and even he had had no qualms about his daughter spending time with Caleb. Still, she couldn't shake the shivers she felt when Caleb looked at her.

He... _assessed _her, like she was a possible threat. Susan had no idea why she would be a threat to him. Maybe he didn't trust people easily; Susan could understand that, having been hurt by someone she loved. It made you suspicious of everyone, regardless of appearances.

Will had said that the boy had a rough home-life and had trouble dealing with people, even friendly ones. When Susan asked Will if Caleb ever scared her, Will had gotten an exasperated look in her eyes and said, "I've never been afraid of Caleb; he really is a good guy, Mom. He's a grouch, that's all. He'd never hurt any of us, it's not his nature." It was surprisingly insightful, yet Susan believed it as well. Still, those eyes... wherever Caleb had come from must have been a warzone of a home.

Like any good parent, Susan had casually met with the parents of Will's friends and assessed their home lives. They were, on the surface, the kind of friends she would have picked for Will. The four girls that formed the I.T.C.H. were from respectable families and should have been good influences on Will.

Yet these were the same girls that seemed to disappear with Will doing God Knows What with God Knows Who at Gods Knows Where. Which was probably the city dump, judging by the smell on Will's clothes. When she asked Will why Susan couldn't always raise her on her cellphone, Will would shrug and say she turned it off to conserve power. A perfectly logical explanation.

Naturally, Susan snooped. Her first area of investigation was the girls' parents. When she had called Will and not received a response she rung up the other girls' parents to see if she was at their house. Almost always she had been told that the girls were at the Lins' restaurant and when she called there, Hay Lin's grandmother always answered, saying that the girls were doing errands in exchange for a free meal. In fact, Will seemed to eat more meals at the _Silver Dragon _than she did at home.

All the girls' parents trusted this Yan Lin, that she had deduced from their conversations. The Lairs had the closest association with her because of their daughter's life-long friendship with Hay Lin; they were practically extended family. The Hales had known Mrs. Lin since they were children and had their first date at the _Silver Dragon; _again a positive review. Taranee's parents were excellent judges of character because of their careers in law and psychology and gave the old woman a ringing endorsement, despite only knowing her a year. Irma's mother Anna had once said that she sometimes felt her daughter was safer with Mrs. Lin than with her.

They didn't actually say this, but Susan had gathered that the parents felt that if Yan Lin knew where the girls were, this was just as good as _them_ knowing where the girls were. This blind faith was not something Susan shared with them.

Like with Caleb, there was something in the old woman's eyes that Susan didn't like. She didn't think that she was a danger to Will, but when they talked there was a sense that her view of her daughter contrasted sharply with Susan's. Like she sawWill differently.

Like she saw more of who her daughter was than Susan did. Or, she saw the _real _Will Vandom and Susan was only seeing half of her.

Which was ridiculous. Who knew Will better than the mother who had held her safe in her body for nine months and raised her by herself for the best part of thirteen years? Some old woman who lived in a restaurant?

But... Susan had never known exactly what had changed Will into what she was now. She did not know why Will always seemed to be thinking of something beyond the moment, like she was planning something (it probably wasn't homework). Her eyes had changed, become harder yet still soft as if tempered by experience and propelled by purpose. She walked different, straighter, marching to some unseen place in her life where mothers couldn't follow.

She disobeyed, not a new thing, certainly, but when Susan tried to ascertain why Will would say, "You don't _understand_," not in the way that all teenagers say it but with a conviction that said that Susan really _did not_ understand what was happening to her. And she really didn't.

All she knew was that there was a... pressure, it was the best way to put it. It was something that Susan couldn't see was pushing Will toward this new person she was becoming. Susan had gone through all the usual scenarios; drugs and alcohol, gang life, even homosexuality.

The closest that fit Will was being in a gang and she was, of a sorts: a gang of girls whose most dangerous accessories were the hair spray cans in their purses. The biggest threat they posed was to the ozone layer. And Will could barely handle the taste of Nyquil let alone alcohol; besides, Susan knew the signs of drinking from her ex-husband and read everything she could about the symptoms of drug-use. Will displayed none of these. If anything, she seemed healthier than she had before coming to Heatherfield. Energized, if Susan had to describe it.

The homosexuality angle would have been a relief had that been the case; it also would have made sense that she hung around with a group of attractive girls every day. When Will had inquired about the topic when she was younger, Susan had sincerely assured her that she would love her no matter what. Susan had reaffirmed this recently and Will had laughed at the idea. "Mom, just because I'm not dating doesn't mean I'm... you know." Plus, Will had a thing for a musician at her school, an Olsen boy, was it Jimmy? Jimmy Olsen sounded familiar.

Having exhausted these possibilities, Susan had told herself jokingly that the only other explanation was that Will was a superhero with a secret identity and when she fought evil she had to turn off her cellphone. Her friends that made up I.T.C.H. were apparently superheroes, too, and this Caleb boy may have been their good-looking sidekick who led them to smelly places to fight the afore-mentioned evil. Yan Lin was their mentor, probably used to be a superhero herself. This was, of course, ridiculous conjecture. Whimsical fancy at best.

Unfortunately, it was the only thing that fit.

As Susan drove through the near-flooded streets of Heatherfield with an inexplicable urge to see her daughter that may have been maternal instinct, she wondered, without any amusement, what kind of costume Will would wear.

For some reason, she kept thinking _wings._

* * *

As a science fiction aficionado Hay Lin knew, just _knew_, that the universe operated on catch-phrases as much as it did on fusion and electromagnetic fields. Words had a weird sort of power; it was like saying _what could possibly go wrong_ or _that had to be the ugliest thing I've ever seen_; at these utterances, things would abso-tootly posilutely go wrong and the next thing you ran into would be uglier than the last. Her experience as a Guardian had proven her hypothesis on the Rules of Catch-Phrases thus far. 

As she watched "Will" greet Susan Vandom just like Will would have, Hay Lin silently quoted a popular saying from the halls of sci-fi fandom: _I have a bad feeling about this_.

The thing was, she wasn't sure _why_ she had a bad feeling at all. "Will" seemed to be performing wonderfully, far better than their previous Astral Drops had. And yet in her stomach something was squirming fiercely, an intestinal Spidey-Sense that kept telling her to _look_, _look_ but for the life of her she didn't know what to look _at_. All she saw was "Will".

"Hey, mom," "Will" said in that slightly embarrassed way kids addressed their worried parents. Hay Lin's stomach flip-flopped.

"Hey, baby," Susan said, wrapping her "daughter" in a tight hug, relieved to be holding her child after a stormy night apart. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Like a log." "Will" squirmed a little in the embrace, a perfectly natural reaction for a teenaged daughter. Hay Lin's stomach knotted itself into a French braid.

"Yeah, like a log that was being sawed in half," Irma said, mimicking a loud snore that made everyone in the kitchen laugh. Hay Lin couldn't help but smile sadly at her oldest friend; Irma was playing her part perfectly as well. Playing herself; for some reason that struck Hay Lin as very wrong. Blood pounded in Hay Lin's ears like the Blue Man Group on drums.

The other Guardians and Yan Lin were in the kitchen as well, all playing their roles in this pageant of deception with Will's Astral Drop as the star. Caleb was in the basement, keeping a vigil over the real Will that was looking to stretch until she woke up. Whenever that was. And to think, they'd been worried about him running off to Meridian the first chance he got.

The fact that Caleb was acting out of the ordinary was just one of the problems thundering around inside her head. Will was hurt, her friends were all torn up about Will, and she, Hay Lin, couldn't think of a way to fix it. Fix them. Her skin began to tighten and constrict her like a net of her own flesh.

Shaking her head tightly, Hay Lin forced a light smile on her face. She had a part to play as well: the Light-Hearted, Slightly Air-Headed Perky Girl. This thought _really _depressed her. "Don't forget, Will, we have that project to work on for school. Lunch and then cram, remember?"

There was no project, of course. This was just a ploy to give the Astral Drop an excuse to come back tomorrow in case Will woke up by then. "Will" nodded. "I'll be here."

"What kind of project?" Susan asked idly.

A wave of panic hit the Guardians. Luckily, quick-witted Irma jumped in. "It's a "Great Women in History" deal; we each have to write an essay and tie them all together. The theme we're going with is 'If Men Can Do It, We Can Do It Better.'"

Susan looked amused. "That sounds interesting. I can drive you over if you want, honey."

"Will" shook her head. "I can walk."

"Well, alright. Unless it rains again. Thank you for looking after her, Mrs. Lin."

Yan Lin smiled. "It was no trouble. Would you like to stay for lunch? On the house, of course."

Susan looked at "Will", who shrugged. "I already ate, Mom. I don't mind if you want to."

"Welllll... we really should be getting back. I have some people from work stopping by later for a project and I need to clean up a few things."

"I can help," "Will said. "I've been meaning to clean my room for a while now."

Susan looked at her "daughter" in pleasant surprise. "Okay, who are you, and what have you done with my Will?"

Everyone but the Vandoms froze. Hay Lin broke out in way too giddy laughter as she said, "Darn, you caught us. We've got her tied up in the basement." The others giggled nervously at the "joke." Taranee, though, looked like she was about to hyperventilate. Hay Lin sympathized, having stopped breathing regularly and unable to fall back into the rhythm.

Susan chuckled. "Oh? Well, you can keep her. I'll take the one that wants to clean her room any day." Everyone but Hay Lin smiled at this. Her Spidey Stomach-Sense was wiggling off the scale and making her nauseous. Was this what morning sickness felt like? If so, she was adopting. "Well, we'll be off. Thank you again."

"Drive safe!" Hay Lin said. As they left out the kitchen doors "Will" waved goodbye and winked slyly at them. Like they were in on one big joke.

Hay Lin stood there silently as the others waved back, then ran for the bathroom and puked her guts out.

* * *

"I'm fine, really. It must have been the omelette. I may have undercooked it..." 

"Hay Lin, I ate the omelette, too. I still have mine," Irma stated with none of her usual airiness. "Yours is in the city sewer system and it's still yellow. You tell me what's wrong right _now_." Irma jabbed her finger in her friend's face on each syllable of "right-now" as if trying to poke through her falsehoods. Hay Lin shrunk back against her chair, a pitiful sight as any.

"Ease off, Irma," Cornelia said, somewhat bewildered by her friend's suspicions. This was the roughest Irma had ever been with her life-long friend, at least in front of Cornelia. Usually Irma treated Hay Lin like a fragile doll that had to be protected from the world, not a murder suspect. "She says she's fine."

Irma looked disparagingly at Hay Lin's clueless defender. "You don't know her like I do; she's hiding something." She turned back to Hay Lin. "I'm not kidding, girl, you tell me what happened." Hay Lin murmured something unintelligible. "What was that?"

Hay Lin cleared her still-sore throat and looked her inquisitor square in the eye. "I think it was the bacon."

Irma stared at her for a long second, then threw her hands up and stomped off. Yan Lin resumed inspecting her granddaughter; she had moved away slightly during Corporal Punishment's interrogation. Though she was thankful that Hay Lin had protective Irma as a friend these many years, sometimes the girl flat-out scared her. "Perhap's it is a stomach bug," she offered. "There is one going around lately."

Taranee gulped. "Uh, are you sure? Hay Lin did most of the cooking..." Somewhere on Taranee's long list of phobias "germs" was flashing a brilliant red. She was still concerned for Hay Lin, of course, but... _ewwwugh_.

"Don't worry, Taranee," Hay Lin reassured her. "I washed my hands before I even opened the fridge. You don't live in a restaurant all your life without learning a few things about hygiene." She didn't add that her up-chucking probably had nothing to do with illness and everything to do with undescribable feelings of not-rightness. "Unexplainable Feelings of Not-Rightness" was probably higher on Taranee's Phobia List than germs.

Yan Lin rose and placed her hand on top of Hay Lin's head lovingly. "I don't think there's anything wrong with you, my little light. It may have been the events of last night catching up with you. Sometimes I would go through a crisis seemingly unaffected only to have it hit me later, and your heart is as open as anyone I've ever seen. Likely your concern for Will manifested as soon as the Astral Drop left your sight." Yan Lin smiled. "You will make an excellent mother one day, Hay Lin. If a bit overprotective."

"Thanks, Grandma," Hay Lin said, a slight blush creeping across her face. Irma seemed relieved by Yan Lin's explanation, yet she still kept a wary eye on her life-long friend. _Irma will make a good mother as well_, Yan Lin thought. _Or an extremely overbearing nurse_.

Cornelia, whose own stomach had been twisting since last night, said, "Well, I guess I should getting home. I am grounded, after all." Not to mention she needed to get away from the others to think about... she needed to think. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. My cell's on all night, if anything happens."

Irma gave Hay Lin a look that said, _We're not done yet, missy_. "We should all be getting home. Reassure the 'rents. And maybe study. Be careful, Corny; after a storm like this there's all kinds of debris on the ground."

Cornelia was both touched and shaken at Irma's concern. She automatically said, "Don't call me Corny. And I will. Thanks. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She started for the door.

"Wait!" Hay Lin said, her voice stricken with worry.

Cornelia froze. _Oh, god, she knows, she's going to tell them, oh god... _"What?"

"Do you want me to ask Caleb to walk you home? It's a long way by yourself."

Cornelia stared at her before answering. "No, no, I'll be alright. It's daylight, after all. What could happen in the light?"

Hay Lin wished people wouldn't say things like that. Didn't they know the Rules?

* * *

"Do you think Will's gonna be okay?" Taranee asked Irma as they walked along the bike path on the edge of the Heatherfield Bridge. Since they lived within a dozen blocks of each other, the Water and Fire Guardians often walked home together. Usually the traffic was so bad you could barely hear the person next to you. With the damage the storm inflicted, there was hardly anybody on the road today. 

Irma wished there was; that way she wouldn't have heard the question. "I'm sure she'll be fine. The Heart protected her, right?" Taranee nodded. "And we got her away from the part of the Shard that got through, right?" Taranee nodded again. "There you go. All we got to do is wait for Will to wake up now. The only reason she's out now is because she's so bad at oversleeping."

Taranee chuckled. "Thanks, Irma. You're always so level-headed."

Irma rolled her eyes at the implication that she was responsible. "Tell that to my parents, and be sure to bring photographic evidence to back it up."

They walked along for a while. Halfway across the bridge Taranee spoke again. "Why do you think it was us that got picked?"

Irma had been expecting another question about Will. "Picked? For what?"

"For Guardians." Taranee looked out across the water. "I asked Mrs. Lin and all she said was, 'Because you are worthy.' That's it. She wouldn't tell me anymore. I... I wondered what you thought it was."

Irma thought for a second. "Well... I'm not sure. Never really thought about it, if you can believe it. I thought it was cool, magic powers and all that but... do you have a theory?" _Rhetorical question_, Irma thought.

"Well... kind of. It's a little long, though."

"Hey, I got time." Their homes were still a thirty minute walk away.

"Okay." Taranee the Teacher reared her educational head. "First off, have you ever noticed that Mrs. Lin doesn't tell us anything about the previous Guardians? I even asked; she dodged it by saying it was nothing but boring stories and she couldn't really remember them anyway. Boring stories, about being a Guardian? If that's not a cop-out..."

Irma shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't want to put pressure on us by comparing us to her crew?"

"Maybe, but she also didn't tell me _when_ she was a Guardian. If she was one, and this was back when she was younger, that's a very long time ago. Likely back before Mr. Lin was born. And when exactly does someone quit being a Guardian?"

"Probably when they stop looking good in the tights."

Taranee laughed. "...hee, yeah, maybe. But seriously, what about the other four girls? Hay Lin says she can't remember meeting any of her grandmother's friends, especially not women her age that could have been Guardians. She showed me the oldest photos her family had, and not anywhere did I see Yan Lin with four other girls."

"Weird. What did Mrs. Lin look like back then?"

"Like Hay Lin, but more serious with short hair. Real short hair cut close to the scalp, unusual for the time. I know photography has come a long way since them, but surely she'd have some photos of her best friends. I have dozens of photos of us on several formats; I thought the whole point of the Guardian thing was being like sisters." Taranee looked embarrassed at her opinion. "Well, that's what I thought anyway."

Irma threw an arm around her fellow Guardian's shoulders. "Funny, that's what I thought, too." Taranee smiled gratefully at her affirmation of sisterhood. "So what does that have to do with how we were picked?"

"Well, I figured if I knew some things about previous Guardians I might be able to hazard a guess as to why we were chosen. Since I can't find anything I decided to look at us instead. And something stood out. Do you remember when we first noticed our powers?"

"Yeah, it was a day or so before we met Will."

"And it was the _exact _day that Will arrived in Heatherfield." Irma looked at her in surprise. "Remember when I asked you about your powers a few weeks ago? I did the same with the others; every time it was on the same day Will came here. Everybody but me experienced them within hours of the same time that Will said she arrived at her apartment for the first time. The only reason I didn't notice them is because I'm scared of fire and stayed away from it that day like, well, every day."

"So, you're saying Will was the piece that clicked with the rest of us?"

"Cornelia's blamed Will for starting all of this when she came to Heatherfield. Maybe she was right, in a way. It doesn't prove much, except that when Will came to Heatherfield our magic went active. She's the Keeper of the Heart, and from what Mrs. Lin says she acts like a conduit for its power to the rest of us. Without Will and the Heart together, we're powerless. Haven't you noticed that when she's around it's easier to use our powers?" Irma nodded. "What I'm wondering is if it was Will that was picked and the rest of us were conveniently nearby, or each one of us were the only girls in Heatherfield that could have been Guardians?"

"Whoa. That's heavy."

"I'm afraid it gets heavier. Hay Lin is descended from a Guardian, the rest of us likely aren't and she's the only one with a connection to the Guardians that came before. That we know of. If that's the case, then how did you, me, Cornelia, and Will get picked? When I was doing my research I listed all the information I could get on us and noticed something unusual: out birthdays sync up with our elements through our zodiac signs."

"Really? Duh, of course! I'm a Pisces, a water sign."

"And I'm a fire sign, Hay Lin an air and Cornelia and Will are different earth signs. I'm not sure if Will's birthday means anything as the Keeper, but remember when Cornelia threw the mudslug through the portal? Do you think we could have done something like that? Maybe being the same element as Cornelia lets Will give her more power than us."

"Will and Corny are astronomically tight? Oh, the irony. So, what? When we were born decided what we became?"

"Partially. The signs of the zodiac were taken very seriously back in ancient times. Match your sign up with a horoscope today and I bet you'll find they're surprisingly accurate about who you are. Same with the Chinese Zodiac. It's possible that our dates of birth affect _us_ somehow, maybe attune us to an element. I can't say anything without information on the past Guardians, but Mrs. Lin's birthday falls on an air sign, just like her granddaughter. She did tell me that she was the Guardian of Air, at least."

Irma was starting to get into this. "Okay, let me try something. This idea is in the "Only-Will-Picked" folder. Suppose we had two people, hmmm, let's say Jenny and Joan, that are in our group before Will arrived. Jenny and Joan have the same signs as the both of us but in this scenario we're both air signs like Hay Lin. Assuming our signs determine our powers, Joan and Jenny would become the Fire and Water Guardians while it would be between us and Hay Lin for the Air Guardian. If the Heart of Candracar is a nepotist it would pick Hay Lin since Yan Lin was a Guardian before."

Taranee nodded. "Magic might be genetic. DNA plays a bigger role than people think."

"But Hay Lin told me that she is nothing like her grandmother was at her age. I don't think the Heart would pick someone just because of their bloodline. I think it's more about compatibility. All of us play a different role as Guardians; I'm comic relief, Hay Lin's the sweetheart that loves everybody unconditionally, you're the smart one, oh, don't give me that look you know you are, Cornelia is... ah..."

"The practical one?"

"I was going to say 'heartless' but yeah, that works. Will is the leader, and a good one despite what 'the practical one' says. Maybe it's a mix of signs and personality traits that balance out the team. Hay Lin keeps Corny and I from fighting too much, you know how Will feels as a new girl and we all support each other and maybe keep each other in check. Balanced, I guess."

"So, you think we were all picked because we're the best combination of all the girls in Heatherfield? That could work, but... isn't it a little convenient that you, Hay Lin, and Cornelia have known each other for years and you were the first people I talked to? And I ran into Will on her first day at school?"

Irma gave an amused look. "You're a tough one to convince." Before Taranee could apologize she continued. "While it's true that I've know Hay Lin and Cornelia for years, only Hay Lin and I have been friends that long. I never had much to do with Cornelia, to be honest. I always thought she was too snobby to associate with the likes of me. The only reason we ever hooked up was because of Elyon, who sort of us dragged us together a few times and we eventually became a group. Then you showed up, and... come to think of it, that was Elyon, too."

"I remember; she invited me to sit with you guys at lunch my first day. And I convinced Will to hang out with us. Weird. Elyon brought the Guardians together, in a way. Do you think she might have done it unconsciously?"

Irma shrugged. "Who knows? Or maybe it was the Heart, somehow working us together. Or both."

"Does that bother you?"

"If that's the case, not really. Something picked us, that's for sure, and I don't think it was Mrs. Lin. I guess it doesn't matter to me because I dig the whole Guardian thing."

"Why is that? It may help with my research," she explained.

"Well, I'm a cop's kid. Duty's already a big part of my life, and if I was given the chance to volunteer I'd have done it." Irma's arm dropped away as she stopped walking. "Hey, maybe that's it!"

"What?" Taranee had halted as soon as she saw the look on Irma's face. It was the look a person would have when they figured out the Mystery of Life.

"If someone had said to me that Earth was in danger from an evil sorcerer and could prove it, and then asked me if I'd become a Guardian to fight him, I'd have said yes in a heartbeat. Think about it, Taranee; if we're either the only choices or the best choices for Guardians, would you have said yes?"

"I... I don't know..."

"Yes, you do. Imagine that I'm your recruiter. Miss Cook, there is a very bad man who wants to take over the universe, starting with your world. He will drain the life out of it and enslave or kill your family. You are at the top of the list of people who can fight back with the powers we can give you. You and your friends will be the only thing that stands between him and everything you love." Irma slipped out of character. "I mean, look at Meridian. Can you see Heatherfield becoming that? That's the only image I'd need to convince me."

"But I don't think that I..."

"Taranee, please. Have you seen yourself in Guardian form? It's like you're a whole different person, throwing fireballs and trash talk around like Stallone or Schwartzenegger in their movies. Especially last night, whoa!" Irma laughed. "Do you know many times I've said to myself, 'Man, I'm glad she's on our side?' Pardon my French, but you kick royal ass, babe."

Taranee shrugged, her body temperature kicking up few degrees in bashful pride. "I just try my best."

"Oh, don't be like that. I meant it as a compliment. My point is, you're the kind of person that would say yes to the Guardian thing. You're not as crazy as I am, but that's the whole balancing thing again. Hay Lin would, I'm sure, just because she'd want to fly around. Will would because she's just a naturally good person. The only problem with this train of thought is... Cornelia."

"Irma, do you... dislike Cornelia? I've wondered that for a while... you two never get along, especially after we became Guardians."

"No, no, I don't _dis_like her... she could be a lot worse, like the Grumpers. She's alright, overall but... why her? That's what I don't get. I can't imagine her signing up to be a Guardian, it seems so... out-of-character." Irma sighed as they started walking again. "Everyone makes mistakes; maybe whoever picked us messed up when they chose Cornelia. She'd have quit by now if Elyon wasn't involved in this."

"Are you sure?"

"...not entirely. Maybe I'm off here, but... sometimes I worry. However we were picked, we're supposed to have each other's backs in this. If we don't, who will? I mean, no one else really understands, not Caleb, not Blunk; just us. We're all we got, and I don't like the idea of someone who's ran away before looking out for me." They were silent for a moment. "I like Cornelia, I do, but I don't know if I can trust her with my life. That's a horrible thing to say, but there it is. Why? Because I just don't know who she is."

Taranee waited until they were off the bridge before responding. "Do we ever really know someone? I'm not so sure."

* * *

They said their goodbyes and exchanged a brief embrace before splitting up a few blocks from Irma's house. Arriving at her home, Irma was partially relieved to see her parents and brother were out buying groceries, according to the note written in large black letters and stuck to the refrigerator. She took the note down and threw it in the trash, her way of telling her parents that she got the message. She then locked herself in her room and threw himself into the Hsia Dynasty and all its assorted wonders. 

Within minutes, she was making a candy bar run to stay awake. Twix: The Ultimate Brain Food.

When her family returned an hour later, Irma came to two conclusions: one, Chinese dynasties were as boring then as they were now and two, something was seriously wrong with her to have studied this long and this hard.

Slamming her history book closed like it was the Necronomicon, Irma lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She knew why she was studying like a sugar-binged preppie, of course. It was to distract her from thinking about the last twenty-four hours. More to the point, thinking about her failure as a friend for not protecting Will.

When Will had arrived in Heatherfield the first of the Guardians she had met was Taranee. Taranee, still feeling like a new kid herself despite moving in a year ago, had quickly introduced Will to the others after school. Irma had been distracted when Taranee told Hay Lin and her about the new kid "Will" and was expecting a guy not unlike Martin Tubbs. In other words, a guy too meek and too geek to run with the other boys and so found friends in the less abrasive female segment of the population.

This image in mind, Irma could have cared less about Will when she met "him" at the _Silver Dragon_. If she had cared at all. Ready to be polite at least, Irma had looked up when the doors opened. Her first thought was "_What a pretty boy_."

She had quickly realized her mistake. Standing there, looking for all the world like a lost puppy, Wilma "Call Me Will" Vandom was most definitely _not_ a boy. She had met Irma's eyes and then looked away, as if Irma would attack her for staring back. Irma wasn't sure why she was staring in the first place, though it might have been the red hair and the olive skin that attracted her attention.

Hay Lin certainly noticed them. Or maybe it was those sad eyes that caught Irma's attention. Her eyes were so sad that Irma wanted to run up and give her a hug, and even affectionate Irma had rules about hugging perfect strangers. She was able to restrain herself even as Hay Lin freaked out over the new girl's distinctive look.

Introductions had been made; then they had quickly departed for the mall where the others left Will and Irma at the food court while they braved the public restrooms next to it. Not one for awkward conversation, Irma had dug for any information Will had not already told them, softening her defenses up with comedical observations of the other girls in the group until Will was laughing too hard to drink her soda.

It was she who first learned of Will's parents' divorce and, performing a little of the police work that was in her blood, surmised that Will's previous "friends" would not be calling her any time soon to see how she was doing. Will hadn't said this; like Hay Lin, Irma had used subtle nuances to piece together more complete picture of the new girl. Like a psychological chart it read: _Gone through a divorce, little shaky, slightly depressed at one point, friends gave up on her, scared and a little angry_, _hates dill pickles_ and such and such.

By the time the others had returned grousing and sharing the horrors they endured for not being able to hold it, Irma had declared herself to be Will's emotional bodyguard. It wasn't a conscious decision; sometime after Will had fell silent and began eating her Chick-Fil-A sandwich Irma had mentally told her "_I've got you, babe,_" like Will was hanging off an psychological cliff and Irma had her by the wrist. She told herself it was the years of being around the "serve and protect" motto. Plus, she liked to hear Will laugh at her jokes. Or maybe she just liked to hear Will laugh, period. Most people had annoying laughs; not Will.

And so, Irma had kept her eye on Will ever since, especially when they became Guardians. From the early days of peptalking her up after a lame powers practice to deflecting Cornelia's wrath after Elyon left them, she ran interference for the things that would hurt Will like her own personal secret service. All she lacked was the shades and the three piece suit.

Now, Irma felt like a total failure. A body guard is supposed to keep the person they're protecting from harm, even if it means taking a bullet for them. Or a giant crystal, or whatever. Despite what Caleb said Irma still believed she should have been the one to go with him. Here Irma was supposed to be keeping Will safe and happy, and now her friend would likely be traumatized. It made Irma want to scream.

She couldn't, though. If she let that give, other things would break out; a veritable zoo of dark beasts that would roam wild and drown her in their waves like locusts. No, she couldn't scream.

Plus, her parents were in the living room and would come running. Geez, couldn't they go on a date or something? Saturday night and all...

Irma _needed_ to scream. When she couldn't scream she called Hay Lin to talk. This was probably not the best time to unload on Hay Lin since she was carrying her own share of the emotional baggage _and_ taking care of Will and Caleb to boot; Irma's shoulders had a bit more on them as well, her being Will's self-appointed "protector."

Taranee, well, she loved Taranee but the girl was not the cry-on-my-shoulder type; Irma's confessions would likely upset her as well. Cornelia was an ice princess on and off the rink; no sympathy there. Plus, she seemed even more freaked out than any of them, maybe because she'd been powerless inside of the Heart. Caleb was probably back asleep again and was even less inclined to talk about feelings than Corny.

As if she somehow wanted to feel worse, Irma glanced over at the pictures on her dresser. Several of her favorite photos were on display, including one taken by Taranee of her and Will. They had been walking home from the community pool a day after they proved Vathek "innocent" and conversing about the big brawl in the Guards' dining room.

Taranee was breaking in her new camera and turned to take a shot of a Will, who quickly covered her face with her hands. Irma, not standing for this lack of confidence, had wrapped her arms around Will's waist and told her, "Hey, pretty girls like us deserve to have our pictures taken." Reassured that Irma thought she was as attractive as herself, Will had lightened up and even struck a pose as Taranee snapped their picture.

Irma got up and walked over to the dresser. She picked up the photo and traced Will's features with a finger, imagining she could feel her soft skin through the glass. _I'm so sorry, babe._ _Please forgive me when you wake up_. She tried to imagine herself on her knees before Will, begging for forgiveness for her inability to protect her charge.

In a daze, not even looking at the picture any more, Irma was now hanging her head in shame in front of Will as she stood in judgement over her. Will's expression was unreadable as Irma poured out her believed sins and asked the impossible. All was quiet until Will knelt with her and lifted Irma's chin with two fingers and smiled a... _loving _smile at her. And Irma knew she would be forgiven. Her heart soared.

And it flew even higher when Will leaned closer, as if wanting to share an intimate secret. Irma was so into her vision that it didn't even register when Will touched her lips to Irma's. It barely registered that Irma leaned into the kiss.

When it did register, Irma's eyes shot open and she dropped the picture. It landed on the dresser with a sharp thud but without breaking the glass. Irma wouldn't have noticed if it had; she could only stare at her own stunned reflection in the mirror.

_Who _are_ you_?

_You tell me, babe._

* * *

Cornelia Hale was not a leader. This was not a required field for everyone, true. She was, among other things: a fashion expert, a talented ice skater, a good friend, a cosmically empowered magical warrior, a mean big sister (Lilian's opinion), and a fan of cute boys. She was, however, not a leader, for a very simple reason. 

She didn't want to be.

She _could_ be a leader easily but leadership, Cornelia had learned, sucked. Sucked _hard_. Leaders took the flak from the bad decisions (Cornelia having provided most of the flak, if not all, for Will.) Leaders had to go the extra mile for the group, sometimes when the group had to go above and beyond the call of duty in the first place. Leaders had to make the decisions that were unpopular and made everybody else hate them, even if they were the right ones to make.

Like the entire human race complaining about the guy in charge of the weather, Cornelia had long hassled Will over her position as leader but said nothing about who should replace her. Certainly not Cornelia; she never said, "Let me call the shots." As annoyed as she was about the position of Earth Guardian being forced on her, being appointed Keeper of the Heart instead terrified her. Just the idea of Will asking her to take over was enough to give her the proverbial willies. Neither did I., T., or H. fit the bill as boss material. Oddly enough, the best girl for the job was the one picked for it.

The main reason for Cornelia's opposition to Will was Elyon. The others had been torn over telling her and foisted the entire decision on Will, fully supporting her choice by abstaining theirs. This was another reason why leadership sucked. So it had all come down to Cornelia pleading with Will to tell Elyon of her heritage. Only later did Cornelia realize that she, too, had deferred to Will's authority even while she pleaded her case.

If Cornelia had said, "I'm going over to Elyon's and I'm telling her everything," how could they have stopped her? They couldn't. They wouldn't. Guardians don't force other Guardians to do what they what. The only thing that prevented Cornelia from telling Elyon was herself. And why?

She didn't know. She knew Will's position. She knew that no matter how passionately she presented her belief in Elyon's strength that Will would do what she thought best. Time had mellowed Cornelia's righteous fury into an analytical coolness that picked apart her memories for sticks and stones to throw at Will. More often than not, she found herself wanting for ammunition.

Her biggest argument for telling Elyon had been the danger she was in. However, this was wrong for two reasons; first. Phobos wouldn't harm Elyon until her powers were at their peak, and second, Elyon could only cross the Veil of her own choosing. And though Will had made the call for the Guardians, they were not the only ones with the information.

The Browns knew and never told their adopted daughter; so did Caleb, who had never willingly followed an order from the Guardians before and seemed to agree with Will for once. Yan Lin could informed her at any time like she did the Guardians, complete with a trippy light show to convince her of the impossible. And Cornelia... she knew everything but didn't say a word to Elyon.

All the scenarios of telling Elyon that Cornelia played in her head had, until recently, been joyous occasions where Elyon thanked her profusely and told her that she was the Greatest Friend Ever. Now, after the mind-expanding experience Cornelia had literally suffered through, she was perceiving things so clearly she wanted to close her eyes to shut it out.

Now she saw Elyon watching in disbelief asCornelia grew a seed into a flower. She saw Elyon's eyes widening as she told her that her parents were liars and a brother she never knew existed was hunting her. She saw the fear in her eyes as she described the creatures at his command like the giant snake man-thing and the misshapen beasts called Lurdens. She _saw _the quivering of Elyon's lip as she told her that the things she thought only existed in horror movies were searching for her, to take her to this place called Meridian.

She _saw _Elyon looking at every bush, every shadow as the Guardians and Caleb walked her to and from school like the bodyguards that they were, protecting her from beasts that could take human form. She _saw_ her own haggard face in her bedroom mirror as she reassured a frantic Elyon that the scraping at her window was not a monster trying to break in and get her. She _saw,_ in painful clarity, her exuberant best friend transform into creature of paranoia until she finally snapped, her powers igniting at the first sign of Cedric or another fiend and completing her transformation into a murderer by fear.

And Cornelia _knew_ that her earlier scenario was practically grade-school compared to the more realistic time-line her choice could have brought about.

And she wondered, which was worse? Reality, or what might have been? Was this what Will went through every time they looked to her? Cornelia had lived in the moment all her life; when she did plan for the future it was always with the assumption that what she had designed would come to pass as sure as if it had already happened. For the first time Cornelia fully understood that she had to see the possibilities of her actions instead of the future she wanted. That was what it meant to be a leader.

Will had wanted to protect Elyon from becoming ruled by fear, but it was a temporary protection at best. Cornelia had wanted to warn Elyon to keep her physically safe, never considering what the knowledge would do to her spirit. They both wanted to protect her from her brother in different ways, neither of which would have worked. They both cared about Elyon, something Cornelia had just now realized. She had thought that Will hadn't cared at all, but she was just as devoted to protecting Meridian's heir despite only knowing Cornelia's life-long friend a few months. The proof? Will was willing to do what she hated most: take charge.

At this moment, Cornelia felt closer to Will than she ever had before. Closer to the person she had abandoned to her death.

Cornelia needed to scream. When she needed to scream but couldn't she called Elyon. She could have confessed everything to Elyon and known she would have found comfort and forgiveness. But Elyon was gone, too far to reach and unwilling to listen. She could call the others, but they were Guardians and even if they could forgive her they would never trust her again.

Silent as the grave, Cornelia sat on her bed and screamed until her head ached.

* * *

Taranee idolized her brother, no doubt about it. He was cool beyond words, and equally nice to boot. She considered herself blessed that she had been given a kind and thoughtful older sibling like Peter Cook. 

At the moment, though, she wished he was a little less thoughtful. As soon as she set foot in her house Peter seemed to materialize out of the walls, frowning the kind of frown doctors and therapists use when diagnosing a patient. It sorta made him look like their father. "You okay, sis?"

Taranee looked at him with her own expression of diagnosis, specifically the one psychologists use when deciding if the patient is insane. "Yeah, I'm okay. Why do you ask?"

Peter shrugged, the deadlocks in his hair bouncing a little with the gesture. "Call it brother's intuition." Taranee's expression changed to one of disbelief. "Alright, so I saw you through the window. You looked bummed. Something bugging you?"

Taranee bit the side of her tongue. If lying to her parents was hard, lying to Peter was sacrilegious. A lot of kids lied to their parents so, in a way, it was normal for Taranee to do so. Peter Cook seemed to defy preconceived notions in every area of his life, especially when it came to his role as an older brother. He was practically a secondary father to Taranee, a position made all the more cherished to her by the fact that he didn't have to be.

Most girls were happy if their brothers refrained from farting around them or had the decency to wear shirts and pants instead of walking around in their boxers. Peter had once canvassed an entire city park to find Taranee's teddy bear when she was six and not stopped until he found it.

How could she not tell him the truth? Maybe she could. "I'm fine, Peter, really. It's one of the girls I'm worried about. Hay Lin's not feeling well and she's such a delicate thing..." she trailed off. It was still the truth, even if she skipped over all the Guardian parts and the threats on their lives. Caleb's words stuck with her as she looked at her brother's face: _sometimes we have to protect people from what they don't have to know_.

This, and Irma's definition about what it meant to be a Guardian gave her all the conviction she needed to withhold information from her family. It still hurt like hell to do it, though.

"Oh. I should have know you were worried about someone else." Peter smiled as he picked a fallen leaf out of her hair. "Doesn't Hay Lin's grandmother know lots of old-time cures? I'm sure she'll be fine, little sis. You keep worrying like this and you'll look Gram in no time." Peter scrunched his face up in imitation of their grandmother, even squinting his eyes like the elderly woman did.

Taranee chuckled like she did every time he did the Gram Face. _Oh, Peter, I wish you were with me last night, but I'm also glad you weren't._ "Okay, geez, can't a girl sulk in this house?"

"Nope, not while I'm here. You hungry? I was just about to heat up a mini-pizza. Oven's got two racks for a reason."

"Naw, I ate at the Lins'. Where's Mom and Dad?"

"Dad's gone fishing with his buddies; something about the storm getting the fish all riled up. Tried to get me to go, but you know..." Peter hated fishing almost as much as Taranee did. Whenever they went with their father on an expedition they were humoring him for the most part. "Moms went down to the courthouse for something, and neither'll be back before dark. You gonna be here tonight?"

He was referring to her missed family nights in the past. "Yeah, I will. I'm sorry about missing the last few, things just... came up." They entered the living room and plopped down on the couch.

"Hey, I understand. Smart kid in the group has to help the others make the grade." Peter nodded sagely. "I know the feeling."

Taranee half-heartedly tossed a pillow at him. "Yeah, right. Who tutored you in math, boy?"

Peter caught the pillow and grinned. "Hey now, in my crew I _am_ the brains. Yeah, yeah, I know, poor us. So, everything's alright with W.I.T.C.H.? I gotta say, I still love the idea that y'all came up with that. Sounds official, like a bunch of superheroes." He chuckled at the idea.

Though his comments were harmless, Taranee felt a slight surge of panic that quickly subsided. "Hay Lin thought it up, and we're good." She fidgeted and stared at an old vase that had always struck her as ugly. "Hey, Pete?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you... never mind."

"What? C'mon, don't make me force it out of ya." Peter wiggled his fingers for emphasis, implying that he was ready and willing to tickle the information out of her.

Taranee grimaced. "Oh, alright, geez, put those away. Okay... I wanted to asked your opinion on something."

"What? Oh, that Nigel guy..." Taranee glared at him. "My bad, shutting up."

"Actually, I want to ask about someone else... me."

"You? What do you mean? You know you're the most beautiful, intelligent, funny little sister in the whole worl..."

"Peter, please! I'm serious. You know me better than anyone, even more than Mom and Dad, and that's why I need you to really think about this." For a few seconds Peter stared at her, then nodded. "Okay. First off, would you say that I have... a temper?"

"What, that you're a hothead? Well... when you were little you could scream bloody murder when you were hurt or sick." Pete grinned. "Sometimes, but only a few times of course, I actually wished I was an only child."

Taranee was actually relieved to hear this. It sounded... normal. "So I was a real brat?"

Peter grunted. "Naw, a brat would have cried all the time. You were pretty calm for the most part, it was just that when something frustrated you and you couldn't do anything about it a different Taranee would rise up and, well... rarrrggrrh!" Peter laughed. "You calmed down as you grew up, but that temper of yours poked through from time to time. Gram says Moms was the same way, so we knew you'd grow out of it."

_Did I_? "So, how am I now?"

Peter, never a heavy thinker in the first place, looked like he was beginning to have a headache. "Uh, you lost me."

"Do I still have a temper? Is that such a big part of me I can't get rid of it?"

"...did something happen? You're really serious about this whole 'Taranee-Hyde' thing all of sudden."

"N-no, nothing happened, I just... it's for school, you know. A psychology thing, looking inward, that sort of thing." Taranee paused. "The other girls are doing it, too."

Though not a deep thinker, Peter Cook was no fool; he looked like he wanted to ask if the girls were jumping off the Heatherfield bridge later and if Taranee would be joining them. All he said was, "Well, I've never been afraid of you, if that's what you're asking. I don't see no problem with you being around small kids or animals. You've never hurt anyone..."

"What about that girl in first grade?"

Peter managed to do a double-take without taking his eyes off of Taranee. "You remember that? Geez, little sister, everyone knew what that girl was like; a bump on the head was a lot less than she needed. If I'd found out about how she was treating you before it happened I'd have put a stop to it. Nice as you were, you kept it a secret from us."

Though it wasn't an accusation, somehow Taranee felt like it was. "I didn't think it was worth mentioning..."

Peter shook his head. "If someone's messing with you, it's worth mentioning. Look, I'm not saying you should go around pushing people because they're jerks, but there are sometimes when you have to be tough and maybe even a little nasty. There are people in this world that just won't listen when you ask nicely and if you've got a temper, it's nature's way of making sure you can survive. Not literally, of course, but it keeps you from being pushed around." Peter tugged on her braid gently. "You're not a bad person because you get angry, sis. Bad people don't worry about getting angry and hurting people; that's what good people like you do."

Taranee let these words soak in, then tackled Peter in a bear hug that nearly knocked him off the couch. "Thanks, Pete. Thanks a bunch."

"Uh, you're welcome. Whoa!" They fell off the couch in a heap and laughed together as Taranee tried to pull her much heaver brother to his feet, the athletic Peter acting like he was suddenly a hundred and sixty pounds of dead weight.

They spent the rest of the afternoon doing familiar activities: chores, sword fights with brooms, Taranee helping Pete with his Algebra and ragging him about it, raking leaves in the yard and laying on them like a mattress, watching the sunset and talking about the nebulous future.

When their parents arrived bearing pizza and a movie they retired to the living room where they just enjoyed each other's company and laughed at Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni's hilarious crime spree. For a while, Taranee actually forgot about Will and the fierce pleasure she felt in injuring the Infection.

For a while.

* * *

Revelations. Epiphanies. Duhs. Whatever you call them, there are points in a person's life where certain knowledge becomes apparent and changes how they view the world. Examples include the proper method of using the bathroom, where babies come from (and how), that love truly is blind (or in Martin Tubb's case, nearsighted and nasally voiced). Often the feelings that accompany these "Duhs" are difficult to express in simple terms. Irma, however, possessed a gift of expression that surpassed most and allowed her to vocalize her innermost emotions at this particular moment. 

"Oh, crap. Oh, _crap_. Oh _crap _oh _crap _oh _crap_ oh _Crap_!" That summed it up nicely. "_Crapping Crap_!" And that punctuated it.

Realizing you had a crush on your best friend was a shock for anyone. When your best friend was your best _girl _friend, and you yourself shared the XX chromosome pair, well... Crap.

Irma sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the picture of her and Will she'd placed back on the dresser. She remembered the feeling of Will's body against hers and how her fingers lightly touched Irma's hand. Irma had been fully into the moment, in total goof-off mode. Pleasantly buzzed with good feelings, she hadn't noticed how nice it felt to have her arms around her friend.

Well, yeah, she noticed, but she didn't think anything about it. She also remembered the scent of Will's hair, chlorine and water from the pool still present in it. For someone with Irma's love of water, this was a very attractive scent more potent than any cologne... or perfume. After the picture was taken, she had pecked Will on the cheek and told her, "Betcha didn't see that one coming."

If that wasn't prophetic...

When it came to her outlook on the opposite sex Irma had matured quickly; she was noticing boys when they were still afraid of catching girliness and invisible bugs from her. After only a few years of looking for Mister Right in a sea of male faces, finding out that he was a Miss was hard to swallow.

Sure, she'd noticed if a girl was pretty or not; sure, some girls held more appeal to her than others, certainly. Even guys could evaluate each other on looks (though they'd never admit it) so where had this come from? It was surely a recent development, she thought, and that got her thinking about their last mission.

It had been one of the worst they'd endured as Guardians. Will was the crux of it, having suffered more than any of them, nearly dying in that Wasteland within the Heart. They had come so close to losing her forever... the thought of that had tore Irma up inside and likely dredged up something she never knew existed. Sometimes, apparently, you had to hurt before you could feel.

Poetic sentiments and catchy lyrics aside, this threw one hell of a monkey wrench into the works. Screw that; a whole tool set had been thrown into the mix, complete with spare nuts and bolts that happened to be lying around. Irma huffed and fell back on her bed. What next? Was she going to start working out and buzz cut her hair?

Irma spent the next several seconds gleefully listing every lesbian stereotype she could think of. Unfortunately, it was a very short list and didn't keep her distracted long enough. Like forever. With a sigh, she glanced over at the picture again. "This is so not the time for this. I need ice cream." Realizing that they were out of ice cream she then proceeded to gleefully list all the female stereotypes she could think of, starting with "Ice cream is the best medicine." This took longer but eventually fizzled, forcing her back to reality.

Well, what to do? Her first idea was to forget it, forget everything, and just go back to before. Unfortunately, time travel was not one of the powers granted to the Guardians. Unless she wanted to drown herself, her powers weren't going to be much help here. Nice to know she had her options open. Seriously, what _could_ she do?

Could she tell Will? The thought came unbidden to her, like a suggestion slipped anonymously into a box. Irma laughed, sounding somewhat delirious to herself. Oh, _there _was a good idea. _Hey, Will, whatcha doing Friday? Want to catch a movie and head up to Make Out Point later?_ Irma clamped down on that last thought. Going there would only distract her.

Besides, the list of reasons not to say anything was longer than the two stereotype lists put together. Two days ago they had already been dealing with Phobos and Elyon. Now there was Will's condition as well. This was not the ideal time. And that was just the top three items on the list, the next reading, "Are you insane?"

Okay, she thought with a cleansing breath, facts first as her dad said. Oh, god, her father... _No_! _Don't_! She had to figure this out logically. Number One: What was the nature of her... attraction to Will? Was it looks?

Meh, a little. Will was cute, but so were the rest of the Guardians and practically every girl she knew to some degree. If it was just looks, it would have been Cornelia hands down. Even Irma could admit that the Infielder Queen was a pure-bred hottie.

Irma couldn't recall ever looking at Will like she did with Caleb, her primary definition of a hot guy; most of her fixation on Caleb worked into the ongoing Annoy Cornelia Plan anyway, so maybe that wasn't the best comparison. A crush on Will would fit better into the Freakout Cornelia Plan, with a hyperlink to the Freakout Everybody Plan to save time.

If Will had been a guy, it wouldn't have been such a surprise; it literally happened all the time to friends of the opposite sex. Her parents had been good friends before they started dating. But her parents had been a guy and girl, obviously. There was always the chance something would happen because, according to love expert Cornelia, if you liked an member of the opposite gender enough to be a close friend, you were a few inches away from outright attraction.

So, why Will and not one of the other girls? Or, even better, why not Macho Rebel Leader with The Pecs? Fighting Cornelia would have easy street compared to... _this_.

Not just looks so... personality? Will had several attributes that Irma liked: she was adorably humble, almost as witty as Irma, and very together compared to the rest of the girls. The other Guardians each suffered an excess of sorts; Irma was sometimes too flippant, Taranee too timid, Cornelia too... Cornelia, and Hay Lin was koo koo for Coco Puffs, to put it bluntly.

Will, on the other hand, was moderation in jeans. The effect she had on all of them was proof positive that she was the one to hold the Heart; Taranee was braver, downright cocky when it came to things like courting Nigel now; Irma and Hay Lin were more focused; Cornelia... work in progress. All because of Will, who encouraged and whipped when she had to and never because she wanted to.

Whenever they talked about the boys at school they had rarely mentioned personalities unless the guy in question had some physical defect that kept them from being labeled "Cute" like greasy hair or "root beer belly" as Hay Lin put it. Even when Caleb came up in conversation, mentions about his social skills were usually restricted to complaints.

Not once had anyone said, "Oh, Caleb is so compatible with you, Cornelia, your inner selves mesh so well together." _Please_. Personality was nice, but basically the girls chased after dimples and white teeth and hoped they didn't hate what was behind it. And Irma already liked Will for who she was. Nice, funny, smart, smelled-good Will. She was... perfect. Oh, lord, she was gushing.

So, looks _and_ personality. Check. Nice to know she wasn't entirely shallow. So what else was there? Obviously they got along real well; Will hadn't even got mad at her for using her childhood nickname in front of everyone in the cafeteria, and that was a hanging crime for sure. They were also Guardians and that was a whole other enchilada.

The Guardian Experience was something you couldn't describe to anyone Not In The Know; the danger, the thrills, the power, even the fear mixed together in an adrenaline junkie cocktail that was flat out addictive. When talking about it, the only intelligible answer was "I know!"

Not to mention Irma got a sneak peek at the sixteen-year-old Will when they transformed. Talk about something to look forward to. Irma slapped her forehead before she got lost in thought about Guardian Will's full lips.

Great relationship, check. Looks, personality, and relationship all seemed to be in order. If Irma had to pick a girl to fall for, well, she could do worse. Like Cornelia, for instance. Nothing wrong with her, per se, but not the most understanding of people, not compared to Will. And she could throw rocks with her mind.

The problem was that even for an understanding person like Will, a confession of love from Irma would come so far out of left field it would smack her in the back of the head. _Say_, Irma thought, _Will would look pretty cute in a Guardians green-and-purple baseball uniform... like that girl in that crazy anime Hay Lin made me watch... complete with shorts..._ Irma smacked her forehead. _Down, girl_!

An _extremely_ scary situation was not just what Will would think, but the rest of the girls. In none of their discussions about which guys they would date had anyone had brought up the subject of "Would you date me?" without the clarification of "If you were a guy?" Never had they even considered asking what Irma was thinking now. It was always guys they dreamed about, Irma included.

Come to think of it, she couldn't remember ever being as comfortable with a guy like she was with Will. Her experience with males was limited and awkward; the awkwardness more on their part than hers, true, but she was equally as nervous as they were. Not with Will, though; whereas holding a guy's hand required as much courage as jumping off the high dive at the pool (in her birthday suit no less), leaning her head on Will's shoulder when she was tired was easy. Especially since she possessed incredibly warm and comfortable shoulders. Gah, she was gushing again!

As she thought about the boys she had been interested in, she realized that they always possessed one thing that attracted her to them. Or rather, one thing that attracted her to _all_ of them: looks. Maybe she _was_ a little shallow. The only boy she actually talked to, _really_ talked to, was Caleb, and other than fighting evil and jousting they had little in common.

Irma quizzed herself: If Caleb asked her out on a date and Cornelia Hale didn't exist, would she go? Accompanied by the _Jeopardy _theme in her head, Irma pondered. And after running through the entire musical number (and several queries from Alex Trebeck) Irma came to a surprising _no_.

Surprising because with Caleb it wasn't one thing she liked about him. Not only was there the looks (whoo boy, he had looks), he was strong, brave, a little stubborn but that would have made teasing him incredibly fun, especially when she made it up to him, but... no, nothing. Caleb was, in those horrible words no one wants to hear, just a friend. She was attracted to him and liked him, for sure, but she didn't... love him.

When she asked the question, _Who do I want with me right now?_, an apparition of Will was laying on the pillow next to her, grinning as she gazed adoringly into Irma's eyes. And wearing that damningly hot b-ball uniform.

Groaning with frustration and more than a little longing, Irma rose and sat cross-legged on the foot of her bed. She looked at the photo as she asked the eternal question: Why me? Bad enough for this insane crush to exist in the first place; what did it say about her sexuality in general?

Despite the tomboyish laugh riot image she projected, Irma thought of herself as the typical girl. Would she now have to separate herself from the others because they couldn't change clothes in front of her? She still liked boys, that she was sure of, but what if The One happened to be Will, or some other female? What would her parents say? They were tolerant people but some things are harder to take when they hit home.

And school... there was a club for people like her ("like her" sounded like she was a leper, she thought) and some students were open about their persuasion, but Irma kept thinking about the non-Guardian friends she had. Few as they were, they were all girls. Even she didn't find the idea of explaining that she was... what she was funny.

If she had a lot of guy friends it wouldn't be the same; boys don't use the same bathroom or gym showers as she did. Heck, most guys would find it incredibly cool to have a friend of her... orientation. Might get to see Irma make out with a girlfriend, after all. Irma suddenly wished she had a guy friend or five. Well, she thought cheerfully, at least she had Caleb and Martin.

Realizing what she had just thought, Irma groaned aloud. The Apocalypse was Nigh. Sound the Trumpets.

And how long would Martin hang around when he found out that Irma was digging on a petite redhead with entirely different plumbing than his? The thought of Martin giving up his years of chasing her was almost as big a shock as Irma's apparent addition in dating preferences.

A twinge of something that might have been melancholy thread its way through her. So many possible changes, all because of her. Not _her_, but Irma. Irma Lair, Life Wrecker. At her impromptu title Irma felt the uncharacteristic twinges of self-loathing. It seemed like everyone was going to affected by this. She sincerely hoped that the Heart of Candracar had a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Past school there was the rest of her life and that was too far into the future to think about even _before_ this revelation. Realizing how little she actually knew about, well, _herself_, she supposed, Irma resolved to do some brushing up on the subject as soon as possible. Which was as sure a sign as any that change was in the air, considering her usual study habits.

But at the moment, there were more immediate problems on the horizon. Like figuring out what the Shard was and checking up on Will. Will...

As Irma sat staring at her closet door, an especially bittersweet thought occurred to her, laced more with bitterness than sweet. Since it wasn't any one thing like with the boys in her life, and she was so comfortable with Will despite knowing her for only a few months, maybe what she felt was... love? Really real love? The kind pop stars and boy bands went on about in songs but never really showed on the tabloid covers? If this was the Real Thing, than what if Will didn't feel the same way?

What if, worse, she became disgusted at the thought and regarded Irma as some sort of freak? Part of her said no, no way Will would do that but another part countered her faith in her friend by saying that just a few days ago Irma thought she could never have a romantic attachment to someone of the same gender. As she dwelled on this, the image of a smiling Will in a baseball uniform changed into one of her walking away while she glanced over her shoulder in revulsion. One by one the other Guardians joined her, none of them looking back as they walked away from her.

Irma suddenly sobbed, albeit quietly. She was shocked at her body's betrayal; she hadn't sobbed in years. The assault apparently wasn't over as tears began to form in her eyes and something in her chest began to seize up. For a second she thought she was having a heart attack, then realized what it really was.

Her heart was breaking at the mere thought of rejection and, worse, losing her best friend. Maybe all of her best friends. As she curled into a ball at the foot of her bed, water she couldn't control flowing from her eyes, Irma realized that she really was in love with Will Vandom.

Because no matter who you were, and who they were, there was always one truth.

Love hurts.

* * *

When she can cry no more she crawls under the covers and tries to sleep. She succeeds for a time. 

"Irmah." Chris' voice broke through her sleep. "Irmah, its lighnin' can I sleep with you?"

She mumbles an affirmative and a small creature snuggles under the covers next to her, seeking reassurance with her presence. Then she drifts back to sleep, blissfully unaware of reality.

The other Guardians sleep as well, drifting in a dark and dreamless state of serene nothing interspersed with images as fleeting as the scenery of a long car trip. A well-deserved rest for their recent battles.

A fragile calm before the encroaching storm.

In Will's apartment, in Will's bed, the Will that was not can't sleep. Doesn't need to sleep, and even if she did she'd be too excited to surrender conciousness. The excitement, oh, the excitement! If a newborn had the cognitive functions and physical traits of its elders it would view the world much as "Will" did: so much to see, so much to do...

So much to do...

* * *

Author's Note For The Will/Irma Haters: I know, know. I'm normally not a fan of slash fics either (since they rarely make sense) and I debated pretty heavily on whether to go this route. After writing out a good deal of Irma's "introspection" I became fascinated with the whole concept; in a tight-knit group of magical girl commandos, something like this would definitely rock the boat. 

Irma/Will is a fairly popular pairing and it also made sense to me because Irma is always defending Will in the series. Plus, Irma seems to be the most masculine of the Guardians, ex. preferring jousting armor over a dress, and she's easily the most physically affectionate next to Hay Lin. I was inspired by Black-Cat-Max's funny stories but wanted to take it in a more serious direction. I hope I don't lose anyone over this, so let me just reaffirm that this is set within the show and _everything's going to be fine_.

This subplot is Irma's conflict as each of the other Guardians have their own to deal with. Also, the Irma-Taranee discussion on the bridge may seem a little long, I admit, but it is relevant exposition to the plot.

Some minor points: the Hsia Dynasty Irma was studying was, according to the first Chinese dynasty in which written symbols were used. It's a written (typed) story, so... you get it. I was reaching with that one, I admit. Blame Mr. Collins for assigning that mess.

The Trojan joke will likely be the last of its kind, unless you guys want some more like it. Tell me in your reviews if you do, but at your own risk!

The girl in the crazy anime Irma was thinking about was Haruko from_ Fooly Cooly. _If I could draw, I would definitely make a Guardians baseball team! But I can't. If any of you artists want to try that, let me know; I'd love to see it.

The "I've got you, babe" line is not a Sonny/Cher homage, I promise. It just seemed like something Irma would think.

Chapter four is half-way done and will hopefully be shorter than this one. Sorry about that. See ya next crime! (Bonus points for catching the reference, and it's not Sonny and Cher, either.)


	4. Best Laid Plans

Disclaimer: W.I.T.C.H. is owned by Disney Enterprises, Inc. I don't own the rights, but I do own an unhealthy number of W.I.T.C.H. books and pictures on my hard drive. I have issues.

Summary: When a mission goes wrong, Will and the Guardians must confront the darkest parts of their souls or risk losing everything. Sometimes the hardest person to face is yourself...

Author's Notes: I'm going to try to keep the chapters shorter from now on, since three just got crazy long. I actually relieved when this chapter topped off _just_ past 12,000 words.

Anyway, guess how thrilled I was to see the "Ice Slide" from Chapter 2 done on the episode, "F is for Facades"? Pretty thrilled. It was done differently, noticeably bigger, and Cornelia skated on it, but hey, it was a kick all the same.

Back when I started this story the first season was over and was noticeably different than the comics, so certain elements of DGW are directly inspired by the books; for instance, the big dream sequence was reminiscent of Nerissa's assaults mentioned in the comics. As such, a lot of the Season Two stuff is similar to my own outline for "DGW" or rather, inspired by them. Not a problem, though, just something I'd thought I'd mention since some of you are looking at "Will" and thinking, "Oh, that's just like in the books!" Well, it kinda is, but with my own take on it. My knowledge of the W.I.T.C.H. comics universe past the Phobos saga is sketchy at best, something I'm trying to remedy with avid web surfing. Between that and my other stories in production, you can see why these chapters are long in coming.

On a wierd note, Hay Lin actually _is_ a bad snorer in the show, according to the episode "I is for Illusion." I honestly came up with that on my own because of her sneezing problem. Hey, if Hay Lin is a horrible snorer, imagine what Irma would be like with a runny nose! I know, I know, quit with the juvenile jokes and get to work on Chapter Five.

_

* * *

In the memory you'll find me _

_Eyes burning up_

_The darkness holding me tightly _

_Until the sun rises up_

"Forgotten" by Linkin Park

* * *

Chapter Four: Before I Wake 

"Irma. Irma, wake up."

Almost reflexively, Irma mumbled, "Five more minutes." Her new favorite dream was still in progress; it was somewhat indistinct, but there was red hair and cappuccino and good feelings all around.

"Irma, you have to get up. Don't you want to visit Will?"

Like several cups of coffee had been shot into her veins intravenously, Irma snapped awake and saw Hay Lin smiling at herwith her hands on her knees as she bent over next to Irma's bed. "Wha, wha... what time is it?"

"Don't you mean what day?" Hay Lin asked as she straightened up. "You're still wearing yesterday's clothes. Oh, and Chris told me to tell you that you snore like your dad."

Irma gave an "uhhhhh" as she rose. That was the last time she let him sleep with her during a lightning storm, the brat. "I'd bet he wouldn't mind hearing _you_ snore." Which Hay Lin did and was way worse than Irma because of the drop in room temperature when she blew out a breath. Whenever the group slept over at the _Silver Dragon _they never had to worry about turning on the air conditioner.

Hay Lin flushed at the mention of Chris' infantile crush on her. "Cut that out. I already feel like a 'Mrs. Robinson' as it is. Are you okay? You don't look very rested."

"I'm not. Rough day yesterday. You may have noticed," Irma growled. It wasn't the nicest thing to say, but hell, she wasn't feeling nice.

"Geez, I'm sorry! Bite my head off, why dontcha!" Hay Lin looking upset was practically heartbreaking and interrogating her yesterday had been equally as rough on Irma; the face she was giving her best friend was sheer agony.

Irma instantly regretted her words. "Forget it, babe, it's not you. I'm just getting in touch with my inner bee-yotch." _Not to mention other things_. "Uhhh... hey, what are you doing here? You could have called."

"Actually, I couldn't. The storm knocked out lotsa power lines and shorted out the cell tower for Heatherfield. I'm barely getting a flicker on my phone's bars. The others are already at home. When we couldn't call you I decided to come over."

Irma looked at her alarm clock and noticed that it was flashing _12:00 AM_ at her like an accusation. "Crap. Didn't mean to sleep in." Rain always did that to her. Maybe because of her affinity with water a rainstorm acted like a lullaby to her. More likely it was those great dreams. She swung out of bed, nearly falling on Hay Lin before she got her footing. "Do I have time to shower?"

"Uh, no. But you can change right quick if you want. And brush your hair." Hay Lin inspected her and winced as if the sight caused her physical pain. "On second thought, hop in the shower. Your hair is _seriously _poofed out. We're talking _Bride of Frankenstein_-poofed."

"Uhhhhhhh..."

"Hey, good impression!

"...thanks." It wasn't an impression but an _ex_pression of Irma's reluctance to do anything other than collapse back on the bed. Whatever else she was, Irma was an expressive individual. Only one thought gave her the strength to forge ahead and that was seeing Will awake and smiling at her for real.

* * *

After a quick shower and a nearly-futile attempt to style Irma's wet do they hit the road, two teenaged heroes on separate missions with one destination: Hay Lin's being to escort Irma back to the _Silver Dragon, _Irma's being to command her mutinous body to follow Hay Lin. 

The trip back to the _Silver Dragon_ was shortened considerably by bike with Hay Lin leading a still-groggy Irma by a few yards. Her long pigtails flew behind her and managed to add to her already jaunty image; Irma, by contrast, looked like the world's first sleep-bicycler with her half-closed eyes and vacant expression. Though the dreams had been good, they hadn't been very restful. It was like a trade-off, of sorts: fun, possibly erotic dreams for the price of a good night's sleep. Irma wasn't sure if it as an even trade, but it was hard to feel regretful about the dreams themselves.

Hay Lin would look back at her occasionally with a frown on her face. Irma would smile weakly in a completely unconvincing display and once tried to give a thumbs-up, which was a mistake because she nearly lost control as Hay Lin turned back around. The stimuli of nearly smearing her pretty face across the concrete snapped her out of her funk until they reached the restaurant, at which point her remaining funk was promptly ejected when that magic word crossed her lips: "Will. I can't believe I didn't... how is she?"

Hay Lin sighed as she flicked her kickstand out with a dainty foot. "She hasn't woke up yet, but she seems to be resting better since yesterday. She's moving more, smiling in her sleep a lot. Grandma thinks she's going to wake up soon." Irma wondered if Will was having dreams about her and realized how romance novel-ish the thought sounded. What would be the next dream, then? Will in a kilt with a sword and her face painted half-blue, rescuing Irma who was dressed up like an English noblewoman from crazed Vikings that looked like Martin?

Oh, great. Now there was no way she wasn't going to have that dream tonight. Irma prayed with all her heart and soul for a bout of insomnia.

They entered through the side entrance and walked as nonchalantly as possible past the busy cooks toward the basement stairs, Hay Lin saying hello to the afternoon shift that had arrived while she had been gone. Irma mustered enough courtesy to greet those that recognized her from her years of visits, but even those simple gestures seemed incredibly difficult to do. Maybe it was the stinging from her cuts; despite Mrs. Lin's extensive knowledge of healing the wounds seemed to be no better than they were yesterday. When she had showered the gashes had opened up and mixed with the water until Irma's entire side was covered with sickly pink fluid, literally bathing her in blood. Irma wasn't squeamish thankfully, having lost several pints of the stuff over the years due to stupidity and a penchant for risk-taking that had added years to Hay Lin's internal calendar.

They descended the stairs, Irma ducking and peering under the floor above for the earliest opportunity for a glance at Will. She wasn't surprised to see Taranee, Cornelia, and Caleb huddled around her in an manner that seemed eerily similar to a wake. Irma swallowed as the three turned toward their footsteps and half-expected them to be in mourning. Instead they smiled at her like she had just returned from a long trip instead of sleeping late.

On Taranee it was believable, on Caleb it was... odd but passable, but on Cornelia it was almost as alarming as if she were weeping. Irma laughed nervously. "Shouldn't you guys be yelling at me now? 'What'd you do, Lair, party all night?' and such?"

Cornelia's smile turned into a knowing smirk. "You do look like you've been partying, Irmie. In fact, you look like you didn't party alone."

Irma's expression practically asked the question itself. "Huh? Whazzat mean?"

"Come to think of it," Caleb said thoughtfully, "You look like that 'kind' of tired. Irma, I know that these past two days have been stressful, but you have to careful about where you find your comfort. What if you... er... became..." Caleb's hands patted his stomach as if to communicate something.

What he was trying to say was (initially) lost on Irma, owing to Caleb's washboard abs and her own unrested state. "What the hel-heck are you talking about? I never left the house before Hay Lin came and got me..." Realization dawned, causing Irma to blink in embarrassment. "Whoa ho, now! That wasn't what happened at all!" Sort of. _Aw,_ _crap_... _how can they tell_?

Hay Lin giggled. "Oh, I know one guy who spent the night in Irma's bed." She mouthed "_Chris!_"to the others. Taranee, damn her sweet soul to eternal torment, giggled back.

Irma glared at Caleb and Cornelia as she elbowed Hay Lin in the arm. "Hey, that's just gross. And where do you two all come off acting like I'm some sort of tramp! What, you think I'm so emotionally _weak_ that I need some guy to... to make me feel better!"

The two feuding lovebirds started and looked at each other as if saying, "_Not the best idea to call Irma loose_." It was perhaps the first thing they had ever totally agreed upon, a shame since Irma was an inch from killing them.

"No, Irma, that's not it at all!" Taranee said in surprise. Her confusion wasn't nearly as profound as Irma's. Why was she snapping at her friends like this? She almost wanted them to be insulting her so she could fight someone, _any_one. "It's just... you have a sort of glow going on, like when we win a huge battle. I doubt it came from studying..."

Irma closed her eyes and counted quickly to ten, skipping five thorough nine as a way to defuse her unexpected anger came to her. "Hey, if studying made me horny, you wouldn't want to sit next to me during a test."

They all laughed/groaned at the image of Irma the Orgasmic Test-Taker as the real Irma hid her struggling emotions behind a slight grin. Humor was her savior once again; if Irma had a patron saint it was probably Jerry Seinfield. "I"m sorry, guys... I didn't sleep well at all. Must have been fighting hordes of monsters in my dreams to get this 'glow' you're talking about."

"I don't think anyone slept good last night," Taranee said, her eyes darting to the floor. Irma's merry expression didn't change as she nonchalantly examined her friends and found they all looked tired, especially Cornelia, who actually looked even worse than Irma. Well, okay, so she looked as beautiful as ever, but the willowy Infielder swayed on her feet a little and seemed to be leaning on Caleb unconsciously.

What had Cornelia dreamed about last night? Irma knew she'd never be able to ask that question and receive a serious answer. Doubts about Cornelia's Guardian mettle aside, she honestly cared for the _fashionista _and wondered what the deal was. Maybe it was better to ask a question more relevant to the situation. "So, what's the plan?"

Everyone opened their mouths at once, then closed them, then opened them again, then closed them again... to Irma it looked like a choir muted mid-performance. It was Taranee that finally spoke. "Uh... plan? I thought the plan was to wait for Will to wake up and she would... make... the plan."

It was a sound plan, if simplistic. "Maybe we should take the initiative here," Irma suggested. "Try to wake Will up ourselves. Smelling salts or cold water in a bowl..." She stopped when she saw Hay Lin's frowning face. "But you've already tried those, haven't you?"

"Well, yeah. Uh, while you were sleeping. She reacted to them but..." Hay Lin scratched her head, unintentionally looking comedic. "We've also been talking to her a little, telling what's been happening... maybe you should give it a try, Irma."

"I... yeah, alright." Irma gulped and stepped past them slowly, her steps seeming to echo in the not-so-empty basement. _Why are they looking at me why can't they look at something else geez... _She knelt next to the bed, her eyes locked onto Will's face. Her emotions ran wild at the sight of her friend and new love interest still in her unnatural slumber; anger at Cedric, regret that she still couldn't do anything to help, and fear that she would never awaken choked Irma. It also didn't help that her nightshirt's buttons looked similar to the top of a baseball jersey.

Irma took her eyes off Will's face to locate her hand and gave it a squeeze. She tried to speak, felt it catch in her throat, then began again. "He-hey, Red... it's me. Ugh. Of course you know who I am, how could you forget Irma Lair? Look, if you don't get up soon we're going to have to start bed panning ya and I'm sure none of us want that, right?" The others chuckled at that. Irma haltingly touched her friend's crimson hair as she continued. "I... I've always liked your look, babe... you look like a young J-Lo with red hair, you know? But you never see yourself like that. I guess that's why you need us, to show you how wonderful you are. And... we need you, boss-lady. We need you so much more than you could ever believe." I_ need you so much more than you'd ever believe..._

There was silence as thick as a fog when she finished, then it was broken by Hay Lin quietly applauded. "Wow, that was great, Irma! All I did was promise to cook a good meal for her!"

Taranee nodded in agreement. "And I promised to help her with her math homework from now on. Hmm... maybe mentioning math was a bad idea. It's like her kryptonite."

No one said anything else, then they all looked at Cornelia. "Uh... I haven't talked to her yet. I... I'm not really good at these things."

Irma sighed heavily. Typical Cornelia. "Well, it's not like it's a Broadway play or anythinyeeeooowwww!" Irma's yelp was caused by the sudden crushing of her fingers in Will's grip. She turned and stared at the hand, then at Will's open eyes as they stared back at Irma's. "Will!" she cried in relief and with a little pain.

Will raised an eyebrow questioningly, then turned her head to look at the others. Caleb and the other Guardians were caught between the states of shock and joy; if one had to name it (Shoy or Jock) it would be the state where they unable to move or speak until they firmly transitioned into joy. Will returned her gaze to Irma and said calmly, "Oh, yeah, I'm Will. Uh, hello?"

Irma, still dazed, said the first thing on her mind. "Let go! Please!"

Will blinked as she became aware that she was holding Irma's hand in a painful grip. "Oh! I'm sorry!" She released her friend. "Are you okay?"

Irma smiled broadly to mask the pain. "Okay? Oh, you mean my hand. Didn't even feel it. You just got a hel-heck of a grip, babe."

"I know!" Caleb said, his ego liberated by Irma's admission of the power of Will's little digits. "How did you get so strong anyway?" He laughed morbidly. "You nearly choked the life out of me last night! Pretty tough for an Earth girl." Righteous smacks from Taranee and Cornelia contacted with Caleb's insolent shoulders. He didn't notice; Will was awake, and everything else was moot. Would it be inappropriate in Earth customs to hug Will and swing her 'round the room? Caleb really didn't care if it was.

His elation suffered a serious setback when Will looked at him in horror. "I... hurt you?"

"Uh... no! I justzzz..." Caleb's search for an explanation trailed off into a buzzing sound that transmogrified into an "...errrrrr... no?" More smacks on the shoulders. "It was an accident, yeah, just an accident. But I'm good now, barely felt it. Uh... how are you?" If it wouldn't have looked ridiculous and alarmed Will, he'd have smacked himself. Behind him Mrs. Lin had entered the basement and smiled softly at Will, then abruptly frowned as she studied the Keeper of the Heart more closely.

Will looked around at the others and the basement, them rose from her pillow to a seating position. "I'm okay. I guess. Nothing hurts but... did I really strangle you?"

"No, of cour... well, yes, but you were having a bad dream at the time and didn't know where you were or who I was." Will didn't look convinced. "It's okay, Will. I don't blame you at all. You saved my life last night, remember? 'Sides, most women I know try to kill me eventually." Everyone but Will chuckled.

The Keeper looked confused at this statement. "But... why? Why would anyone want to hurt someone as nice, and brave, as you?" Will's question was said in the same tone as a little girl who thought her daddy was the bestest daddy in the world.

Caleb was, naturally, disturbed beyond belief. "Will, you do know who I am, right?" If she did, there would be no question as to why the girls would want to do him harm on occasion.

Will looked at him strangely, as if trying to place his face. "...Caleb."

The breaths of relief on his back felt like a breeze. "It's good to have you back, Will."

"Uh, thanks. Where was I?" They laughed, and she wasn't sure why. "What?"

"It's nothing. You've just been asleep for a while. Do you remember the others?"

She looked at the girls and old woman standing behind him. Taranee, the fire-voice, sure. The other names came quickly to her and she sounded them off, Irma and Hay Lin smiling in relief as their names were called, Yan Lin nodding in affirmation at "Mrs. Lin" and Cornelia's mouth twitched slightly as Will looked at her. When she finished, she looked at Caleb and asked, "What happened?"

"We're still trying to figure that out. Do you remember the Shard? A big, black crystal?"

"Uh, Shard?" She thought hard. And then she thought harder. She was thinking so hard her eyes began to strain. "I... I don't. The last thing I remember was you carrying me through the light and it was raining."

Caleb sighed. "Well, that would make sense. The mind blocks out things that are painful sometimes."

"Uh, can I ask you something?" Will said hesitantly.

"Of course."

"Oh." For some reason she had expected him to say "no." "I'm not really sure how to say this, but... who are you?"

Caleb and the other girls stared at her like she had grown an extra head and it resembled Uriah Dunn. Yan Lin closed her eyes and sighed. Caleb wondered if this was some sort of Earth humor he'd hadn't been exposed to yet. "Uh, Will, you just said my name."

"Yes, I mean, I know that you're Caleb but... who are you _to me_?"

There was a chorus of gasps from the other girls. He swallowed hard as the truth hit him. "You... only remember our names, don't you?"

"Well, yeah," she admitted reluctantly, like she had done something socially awkward. Like amnesia was mental belching or something. "I guess you guys like me since you saved me from the bad voices and we dress alike. Well, you don't, Caleb, obviously. And I know I can close the lights with that," she pointed to the Heart, "and that Lurdens and Cedric are bad, but... that's it." She looked at Caleb with a startled expression. "You're not my brother or cousin, are you?"

"What? No, we're not related."

"Oh." She was relieved that her previous thoughts weren't incestuous. Than why did he care so much? "So you're my... boyfriend?" she asked hopefully. _Please say yes, please say yes_...

The fact that anything could shock them after last night was probably a good sign. This was lost on Will's friends as they looked at her with startled expressions; Cornelia actually gagged. Caleb asked nervously, "What makes you say that?"

"You're not? Darn. You seemed really worried so I thought..." Will huffed. That was disappointing. "Do I have a boyfriend at all?"

"Oh, god," Irma said with a groan. "She's turned into Cornelia. We may have to put her down." Cornelia was still put out by Will's fixation on Caleb and didn't notice the slur. Will, similarly put out by being single, barely heard Irma's comment that she be euthanised and chalked it up to Irma being the Funny and Sarcastic One.

She remembered that as well as the unofficial titles of the other Guardians; Smart and Shy Taranee, Cool and Fashionable Cornelia, and Hyper and Artistic Hay Lin. Yan Lin the Wise was something of a mentor, she thought. And Caleb the Babe who, to be fair, played the part of a male Bond Girl to the Guardians' Double-Oh-Seven in that he was capable, dangerous, dispensed vital information, required a good bit of rescuing and looked good in a swimsuit. Naturally, Will only remembered the "Babe" part, though she could have hazarded a guess at the "looked good in a swimsuit."

"Uh, no, Will, sorry," Hay Lin said. "But you've got your eye on one. He's a musician."

_Bet he's not as cool as Caleb_, she thought, but she forced a grin. "Oh. Well, what's his name?"

"Matt Olsen. Do you remember his face?"

The grin vanished. "Not really." _Not as cool as Caleb, then._

A thought occurred to Taranee. "Will, do you remember your mother, Susan Vandom?"

"Uh, kinda. Does she yell a lot?" _And is totally unreasonable,_ slipped in somehow. Instinct, maybe.

"Well, you say she does."

"I think... she doesn't look like me, does she? Long, black hair?" Will fingered the red strands that hung over her eyes. Man, it was messy. "But our skin's the same."

"That's her." Taranee rubbed her forehead, a gesture that seemed somewhat familiar to Will. It usually meant that she was thinking. "Okay, so Will has partial amnesia. She remembers us and her mother, she doesn't remember anything that happened in the Heart... Will, do you know why we wear the uniforms?"

Will thought for a second, then suggested, "Because they make our boobs bigger?"

The girls actually laughed before they realized what this meant. "You don't remember that we're Guardians?" Hay Lin asked worriedly. Yan Lin's frown deepened.

"Guardians..." Images played across her mind like a messed up slide show where the film was partially melted. A pink crystal, fire, water, earth, air, "Guardians Unite," the lights called portals, the snake man (Cedric), the green monkey (Blunk), Caleb crushed under the snake man's tail, she was flying/falling towards him, the snake turned and he held a black knife shaped like a sharp stone...

Will yelped in alarm and grasped at her chest, almost pitching forward off the bed. There was only the memory of pain, not the pain itself, but it was so strong...

Instantly the girls and Caleb surged forward and surrounded her in concern, their hands on her shoulders. She was grateful for their protectiveness but it was also suffocating. "Please, I'm fine, I just... need some air."

They backed off slightly and she told them what she had seen. Caleb nodded at her account of Cedric. "You saved my life, Will, and you suffered greatly for it. I'll never forget that."

Will hoped she wasn't as red in the face as she felt she was. Because she felt pretty damn red. "Hey, no problem. I guess that's what I do, right?" She looked at the others for both confirmation and to not look Caleb in the eye.

Irma nodded. "Oh yeah, that's us. We save dudes in distress and kick evil butt. We're always bailing Rebel Boy here out in particular." She patted Caleb's head like he was the family pet; Will couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

Caleb crossed his arms and grunted. It was, unfortunately, a little too true as dictated by Caleb's Guardian Guy status (see above.) Will thought he looked adorable all pouty like that, then squelched the thought. He wasn't her boyfriend and might be one of the others. Cornelia, for instance, seemed to be standing where she could jump in between them if needed. Surely Will wasn't that desperate for a guy? Best not to ask just yet. "So when I say 'Guardians Unite,' we change?"

Hay Lin nodded. "If you're holding the Heart, yes. Hey!" Her eyes lit up. "Let's transform! Maybe that will help Will's memory! Grandma?"

Yan Lin considered this for a minute. "Perhaps. I suppose it would do no harm."

"Alright!" Hay Lin took the Heart off the nail and held it out to Will by the string. Will took it gingerly and inspected it with both hands, tracing the impossibly smooth crystal and the intricate frame with her finger tips.

"It certainly is beautiful," Will said. Why would she be given such a beautiful thing to keep?

"It was made by a princess nymph and four dragons!" Hay Lin offered. Will looked at her with an alarmed expression. "But they were good dragons! We're like the dragons and you're the princess! Uh, sort of." This seemed to unsettle Will even more.

Irma sighed and said, "Look, don't listen to her, Will. All you need to know is that we've transformed dozens of time without a hitch. Well," she tapped her chin thoughtfully, "there was that one time in the painting you guys got sucked into and Caleb and I rode to the rescue. But other than that..."

"Come on, you're confusing her!" Taranee said. "Next you'll be telling her about all the monsters that have tried to eat... us... oh, never mind! That was... a video game! Yeah!" She gave such a fake laugh that even Amnesia Girl wasn't fooled.

Caleb stood and faced the rather unsuccessful Amnesiac Guardian Support Group. "Look, maybe you could just transform instead of scaring her half to death? I'll go stand watch." He walked toward the stairs, much to Will's disappointment; out of the other girls' sight she'd had a pretty good view of Caleb's muscled shoulders and jean-clad butt. Nice _and_ cute. If he wasn't Cornelia's boyfriend maybe... and she did save his life... bonus points for that...

"Ready, Will?" Hay Lin asked., interrupting her from her mental tallying.

"Huh... oh yeah, let's do it." Testing her sock clad feet on the basement floor, she shakily stood in front of the girls. She was a little worried when they spread out to other parts of the basement but Irma reassured her.

"We need a little space when we transform. Go on."

Steadying herself, Will closed her eyes and said, "Guardians Unite." She waited for what her dim memories told her would be an explosion of magic, light, and sound, the feeling of change running through her limbs like fire water... and she waited. And waited. _Waiting. Hello? Was this thing on?_ She opened her eyes and looked at the others, who looked back at her with expressions that clearly read, "Oh, sh-sugar."

Will closed her eyes again and yelled, "Guardians Unite! Guardians Unite! _Guardians Unite_!" She was practically screaming. The feeling that something was incredibly wrong made her stomach churn.

"Will, stop! It's not working!" Hay Lin said as she walked forward and set her hand on the Keeper's shoulder.

Will opened her eyes and looked at the Heart. "Is it me? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you did fine, Will, really." Hay Lin placed an arm around her shoulders. "We'll figure this out. We always do."

* * *

Caleb sighed heavily as he heard Will repeatedly call out the words to transform herself and the others. As relieved as he was that Will was okay, he had almost immediately snapped back into the mind set he used as leader of the rebellion. It was harsh, but he had to think of the logistics of the situation. Will was awake and physically unharmed, but her memory was gone and she couldn't use the Heart to transform. And despite what he had initially thought when he met the girls, Caleb knew now that the Guardians were key in defeating Phobos. 

Absorbed as he was in his thoughts, Caleb still registered the footsteps leading up to the back door. He turned and tensed as the knob turned and... "Will" walked in. Caleb relaxed visibly. Of all the things he had seen the Guardians do, the Astral Drops were the strangest. Designed to allow the Guardians to focus on their duties, their doubles were more or less effective at passing for them. Knowing the girls these past few months had given him such a feel for them that he could spot their Drops a block away.

If Cornelia was acting nervous or Taranee was strutting around like she owned the place, chances were good he was looking at their Drops. For something that was supposed to take the Guardians' places in their everyday lives, the Astral Drops sure didn't act like them. It didn't make a lot of sense to Caleb; the fact they actually worked made even less sense. He had surmised that the busy lives people led on Earth kept them sufficiently out of touch with each other that the Drops' sometimes odd behavior either went unnoticed or was explained away by the fact that they imitated young girls, which were quite possibly the most bizarre subset of the entire human race (according to Caleb).

Figuring that even a copy of a person should be granted basic courtesy, Caleb gave a friendly smile as "Will" waved at him. "Good afternoon. How did it go?"

"Will" shrugged in a way that made her head seem to drop into her chest, a gesture Caleb had seen her do many times. This particular Drop seemed to be an especially good copy, perhaps because it was made by the other Guardians and their perspectives of Will. "Pretty good, I think. Susan was busy with work so I just went to Will's room and cleaned all day. Is she doing any better?"

"Uh, sort of. She's awake but... you may have to keep up the act a while longer. She's having some trouble with her memory."

"Oh?" Will's Astral Drop looked concerned. "Well, can I see her? Maybe I can help; I remember a few things myself."

Caleb nodded. "Sounds good. Let me go down first and explain. She probably doesn't remember what an Astral Drop is. Don't want to scare her... no offense."

"Will" laughed. "None taken."

Caleb left the kitchen. "Will" took a fortune cookie from a basket and cracked it open. Reading the fortune, a grin that didn't touch her eyes spread slowly across her face. "'By looking inward, you will see the path that lays before you,'" she read. Popping the cookie in her mouth, she smirked and glanced at the steps to the basement. "You ain't kidding."

* * *

He was not Phobos' friend. Not in the slightest. He was the prince's right-hand man (as it were) but their relationship was more along the lines of employee/employer in that he received payment for his service. It wasn't a paycheck that made him do his master's bidding (though he had riches); nor was it a benefits package that he was given (though there were perks.) There were two reasons why he served Phobos: one, he wanted power, and two, he didn't want to die. 

Reason number two would have been sufficient on its own. So would number one, if Cedric thought about it.

And yet so many thought that he held a small place in Phobos' heart as a trusted friend or... more. The truth was he was an intelligent beast that was too powerful for Phobos to allow to remain free but was extremely useful under his command. So, he served. The fact that the arrangement worked to his advantage as well was a plus. Frankly, he just loved his job; subjugate the masses, satisfy his predatory instincts as he pursued enemies of the state... all in all, he had little to complain about.

Until the Guardians returned. And suddenly, life got a lot less fun. And work, which had never felt like work before, consisted of slightly amusing parts between almost weekly bouts with the witches of Candracar. Most of which he lost. If he hadn't persuaded Elyon to come to Meridian of her own free will, his distinctive hide would now be adorning the prince's luggage. In light of what had happened at Inimini's laboratory, the chances for a fall line of Cedric handbags had risen exponentially.

As Cedric stood before his master in his human guise, he fancied that Phobos would give his remains to Elyon and tell her that Lord Cedric had taken an extended vacation. Most amusing. Though he was not Phobos' friend, he probably knew the prince better than anyone.

Why he wasn't slithering for the hills was beyond him. Oh, yes; Phobos would track him down and kill him, that's why. If he was going to die, he might as well get it over with. He'd spent most of yesterday (after he awoke after being unconscious for several hours) cleaning up the mess the Guardians had made and tending to other problems that would have irked him had they not kept him from being debriefed by Phobos. By now, the Prince was likely primed to explode like a larvek with a rock stuck up its...

His vivid thoughts were interrupted by the Prince's voice resonating from the shadow of his throne. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, Cedric," Phobos drawled, knowing damn well that no one would correct if he _was_ wrong, "but I distinctly remember telling you _not _to use the Shard on any of the Guardians. I believe the words I used were 'terrible consequences'. And what did you do?" he asked in the tone of an irritated parent. Like Cedric was going to bed without supper for this little stunt.

Cedric, however, knew that his punishment could be more along the lines of a permanent grounding. As in grounded to paste. "My prince, I can explaiaaaaaarrrrrrhhhhhhhh!"

Phobos wasn't in the mood for explanations. He _was _in the mood for pain. Cedric convulsed as the dark energy surged through him like an infestation of black lightning. An eternity later (actually only a minute had passed) it was over and he collapsed to his knees. One thing he liked about his human disguise was the knees; if he had been in his true form, he would have fallen flat on his face.

Phobos rose from his throne and began to pace. Pacing was generally a bad sign. "It would have been dangerous enough using the Shard on the rebel leader, yet that was a chance I was willing to take. That boy is almost as annoying as the Guardians themselves. The Shard was supposed to eliminate him and the rebellion; at the very least it would have done away with the brat. But to use it on a Guardian... and not just any Guardian but the _Keeper of the Heart of Candracar_... tell me, Cedric, am I wrong to have you as my most trusted lieutenant?"

Cedric's first response that leapt to mind (after "ouch" and "drop into the hells, my prince!") was that Phobos didn't trust anyone. He didn't say any of these aloud, of course. What he did say was, "The Keeper surprised me, my prince. She practically threw herself on the Shard to save him; all the Guardians seem to possess_ssss_ a strong loyalty to the rebel Caleb. Perhaps it is due to his... prowess in areas concerning human females, I know not."

Phobos actually smiled at this; Cedric was both reassured and terrified. When Phobos smiled, anything could happen. And it usually happened to whomever was in his sights; this could be good or… not good. Keeping up his momentum, Cedric added, "My prince, I understand the implications of what has transpired, truly I do, but what is an obstacle if not a worthy opportunity in disguise?"

Phobos looked thoughtful. Thoughtful was good. Usually. "Explain."

"This entire operation was commenced with the goal of destroying the rebels; would not the Guardians, with their ties to Elyon not fully severed, be more dangerous? The rebels stand no chance of defeating us; they are outnumbered and hide like rats. The Guardians have not only proven to be a great threat but are a symbol of hope to the rebels and they are still young, growing more dangerous as they learn control over their blasted powers."

"We know the course of the Shard; if it runs to fruition, not only will the Guardians be destroyed, but their sway over the masse_ssss_ laid to waste. There is a risk, true, but the rewards more than justify it." Cedric's eyes lit up with reptilian excitement. "Imagine not only ridding ourselves of this generation of Guardians, but preventing future ones from ever _exissssting._"

Phobos stopped pacing and was silent. His deceptively handsome face was a mask as he considered Cedric's proposal. Finally, he spoke. "I have considered this course of action, Lord Cedric, and deemed it entirely too risky; now we have little choice in the matter but to see it through. But there are many unknowns on this path; how can we not be sure that we have not planted the seeds of our own destruction? We have rarely struck directly at the Guardians so as to not incur the wrath of those that empower them, yet as long as that girl lives..."

"I understand your concern my lord, but I'm afraid the point is moot and what has transpired cannot be changed. We must either take control or surrender ourselves to fate." If there was one thing Phobos hated, Cedric knew, it was powers greater than himself. Phobos would no more surrender to fate than he'd move to Heatherfield and open up a coffee shop. Cedric dwelled on the absurdity of his master as a barista to distract himself from his fear.

"I see... and yet if we allow this flow of events to proceed, we must have a guarantee that we can stop the source if need be." Phobos stroked his goatee as he pondered, then dipped his hand in a bowl of powder next to his throne and tossed it on the floor in front of Cedric. Spinning like a sand devil, the dust resolved itself into an circular image of "Will" as she lounged against a counter in the _Silver Dragon_.

Phobos' eyes narrowed as he stared at her; Cedric had often wondered if perhaps some small fascination existed within his master with the Guardian, besides the fact she possessed the Heart. The intensity he regarded her with was sometimes unnerving and rarely did anything warrant that much attention from the Prince of Meridian.

Perhaps in his youth Phobos had pursued a young lady with hair as red as her innocent blood and actually _loved_ her. Maybe he dreamed of convincing the Keeper to abandon her duties and world for a place at his side, to use the Heart of Candracar at his bidding out of affection for him.

Or maybe he just wanted to kill her and the rest of the witches and saw the Keeper as the quickest path to doing so. Cedric would have bet his life on the second alternative. Was betting his life, come to think of it. Because whether he lived to see tomorrow would be determined by how much Phobos wanted to destroy the Guardians. And if the leader held some appeal for him...

Elyon was getting some new luggage.

The image on the floor shimmered into the same girl as she sat on a bed and conversed with the rebel leader, who knelt in front of her in an almost unconscious sign of respect. Only someone who had studied the human form as intensely as Cedric could notice the slight concentration of blood in the bottom of her ears and along the neck that signaled an increased beating of the heart. Suddenly, Cedric realized why the Guardian seemed so eager to die for the rebel leader. The thought of it made him want to retch.

His approaching nausea was averted by Phobos' cold voice. "Yes, we will need a guarantee. Something to make sure that we are in control. An assassin."

Cedric nodded. "Frost, perhaps, or the Tracker..."

"No, overt force has failed too many times already. This situation requires... subtlety. Send for Belantha. Remind her of her debt to me, and the consequences if she does not honor it." He dismissed his "trusted" servant with a wave of his hand.

"As you command." Cedric rose and turned to leave, feeling immense relief at this turn of events.

"Oh, Cedric. One more thing."

He tensed, but it was a foregone conclusion. As the lightning wreaked havoc with his central nervous system, he actually grinned at the absurdity. _Friends, indeed_.

* * *

"So there's another... me... upstairs?" Will asked. Caleb nodded. "And I thought that the whole princess and dragons thing was hard to buy." 

Caleb grinned. Memory loss aside, she sure sounded like the Will he knew. "We didn't want you to be caught off guard. Remember, if you say Astral Drop where she can hear it, she'll disappear. With your memory like it is and not being able to transform you'll need to let her stand in for you until you're back to normal. Well," he smirked, "back to the way you were, anyway."

Hay Lin slapped his shoulder, unknowingly hitting a sore spot from the previous punishments. "Caleb, be nice! She might not know you're kidding!"

"Who said I was?" Caleb replied flippantly, secretly winking at Will.

Will snickered, then grew serious. "So, can I see her? Maybe she can help me get my memory back."

Yan Lin called the Drop down. As she walked down the stairs Will was aghast. She remembered her own face well enough, but to see another her walking around struck her as incredibly odd. The others seemed unfazed by her, though Irma fidgeted slightly when the Astral Drop brushed past her.

The Will that wasn't Will smiled at the Will that was. "Hi."

"Hi," Will parroted. "Uhm... how are you?" _Lame, lame, lame_... still, what did you say to yourself? _Hey, good looking? _Wait, wasn't that something Irma would say if it was hers?...

"I'm fine, but I think I need to be asking you that. Caleb said you're having memory problems?"

"Uh, yeah. I remember everyone's names and my mom's but not this Guardian thing."

"Will" nodded. "I know what that's like. That's what happened when the girls made me. Some parts are fuzzier than the others... well, let's see. You remember the girls and your mom," Will nodded. "And Mrs. Lin and Caleb?" Another nod. "Huh. Oh, I got it. Matt Olsen: he's the guy you have a crush on, right?'

Will blushed. "Apparently, but I don't remember his face or voice."

"Really? That's a surprise. I guess since it's just a crush it's not as strong a feeling as you have for the others. Okayyyyy... do you remember your dad, Thomas? Tall guy with short red hair like yours?"

Will closed her eyes in apparent thought, then scooted away from her Drop and back into the wall, her face paling in fear. "No..." she whimpered, "No more fighting, stop..." She buried her head in her arms and continued to whisper, "No, no, no, no..."

Hay Lin darted in to comfort Will as Irma grabbed the Astral Drop's arm and yanked her away. Spun off-balance, "Will" straightened up and found herself staring into Irma's angry blues. "What did you say to her?"

"Will" hesitated before answering. "I... I don't know... I don't know why she'd be so upset about... all I remember about him are good things. I'm sorry..."

"Irma! Release her!" Yan Lin commanded. Irma seemed conflicted about whether to follow the order but finally relented, roughly releasing "Will" and glaring at her. Yan Lin looked worried as her gaze flicked from Irma to Will, unsure as to who to tend to first. Her granddaughter was whispering reassurances and trying to gently pry Will's arms open, but Will refused any aid. Caleb and Taranee were hovering at Hay Lin's back while Cornelia stared at Will mournfully and hugged herself. Yan Lin felt like she was walking through a dark room, unable to see things as they were.

Finally, Will broke through her emotional lockdown and looked at Hay Lin through teary eyes. "I'm sorry. I remember him, but I keep seeing them fighting... it's scary."

"It's alright," Hay Lin cooed, "it's alright. That's the past; right now, your friends are here and we won't let anything happen to you." She sat on the bed and took the sorrowful Keeper in her arms. "Are you hungry? I"ll bet you are. Let's get you dressed and fed. Caleb, _out_."

Just on principle and without any real feeling, Caleb glared at her as he left the basement. Yan Lin, Cornelia, and a still fuming Irma followed him out, Irma being partially dragged by the wrist by Mrs. Lin. When they got to the kitchen Caleb asked Yan, "What do you think, Mrs. Lin? Is she recovering well?"

Yan sighed and held her arms in front of her. "It is difficult to say. If you're asking for a time frame for when she can return to Guardian duties, I am even more unsure."

Caleb's face flushed in offense to the statement. "Actually, I wasn't. I'm not that big of a gorkar."

"Caleb, language!" Yan Lin looked over at the girls in apology for Caleb's potty mouth. Neither of them had any clue what a gorkar was, anyway, and their expressions said as much.

"Sorry. But... yes, I'd like to know that, but I really do care about Will. As a friend, not just an asset." Caleb frowned slightly at this admission, as if it was a _faux pas_ for him to admit he cared about anything but the rebellion. "...anyway, I've seen cases of amnesia in the rebellion, but most of those were head injuries and one caused by hypothermia. This... this is your area, Guardian Lin."

Yan Lin was silent for a moment. "...it would help if we knew more about the Shard. Let us go upstairs and discuss this; there are too many ears about for my liking."

When they were upstairs they took seats at the Lins' dinner table, Yan appropriately at the head with the girls on her right and Caleb on her left. "First of all, the incident with Cedric. You say he struck Will with the Shard, then it was absorbed by Will herself?" Caleb nodded; he was unlikely to forget that scene as long as he lived. "Are you for certain that it was Will that absorbed the Shard... or was it the Heart?"

"I... I'm not sure. Honestly, I've always wondered where she kept the thing. Uh, when she was transformed." He looked questioningly at Irma and Cornelia.

Irma scratched her head. "Uhhh... sometimes in those sleeves of her's, sometimes in her top... I don't know how, but she seems to have figured a way around that sort of thing."

Cornelia swallowed before answering. "I'm pretty sure it was in her top. I saw her put it in there before we went through the portal."

Yan Lin nodded. "Ah, that would explain the Infection's entry into the Heart; the Shard was absorbed. The crystal has many properties that are as of yet unknown."

"What exactly is this thing, the Heart?" Irma asked. "You told us the story, but what does it mean?"

They were interrupted by the other girls entering the room. There was only one Will with them, and judging by her shaky appearance and half-eaten meat bun it was the original. She was dressed in some of Hay Lin's older clothes; a pair of slightly raggedy jeans, sandals, and a T-shirt with an green alien's oval head on it. She looked a little like a beach bum, Irma thought, though not in a nasty way. The Water Guardian kicked herself in the leg when she realized she was admiring Will's unpainted toes.

"Where's the Drop?" Caleb asked as Will sat down next to him and beamed at him through moist eyes. He smiled awkwardly back. Cornelia took a sudden interest in the Oriental decor of the Lins' living space, especially the vase behind Will, which she regarded with slightly manic intensity.

"In the basement reading a magazine," Taranee answered Caleb. "What are you discussing?"

Caleb filled them in. "Irma was just asking Mrs. Lin about what the Heart. The Shard may have entered it instead of Will."

Yan Lin nodded. "Yes, I suppose I should elaborate. As you know, the Heart was created when Xin Jing freed the Four Dragons and joined with them. The Heart is a physical symbol of that bond, a promise to right injustice made real. It contains the powers of the Dragons and the princess in its own small universe, that which you visited the night before. That is where Taranee's fire, Irma's water, my little Hay Lin's great gusts of wind and Cornelia's command over the earth originate from."

"But I was powerless that night!" Cornelia said, trying not to look at Will. "I couldn't do anything..." _Couldn't or wouldn't_?

"I understand your frustration, my dear. The Guardian of Earth has a unique place in the hierarchy of the Heart; your weakness in that area is balanced by great strength in another. After all, who else among you can give life to plants long dead? The power of Earth steadies and contains the others, providing vital balance."

This statement made Irma's stomach clench with doubt, but she said nothing except, "It didn't look like much, just a big gray plain of crud."

"Ah, but appearances can be deceiving. Think of the 'Closet' as the edge of the crystal, the gray plain the secondary layer, and at the heart of the Heart are the primordial energies that make up the world. As Taranee could tell us, fire, water, air, and earth are all ingredients of a living organism. That why the Heart is so powerful: it contains the forces of life itself."

Will picked up the Heart from where it hung on her neck and stared at it in disbelief. "And this... was given to me? Why?"

"Because you are a focal point, a being of balance. Through you the powers are given to the others. Without you, Will, they are powerless." Yan Lin smiled affectionately at the young Keeper. "Don't look so surprised, dear. You are worthy of this honor, or it would not have been given to you."

Will didn't look convinced. "If you say so."

"So the Shard entered the Heart," Taranee began, rubbing her forehead again, "and somehow brought Will's... soul, I guess, there as well. It infected her somehow and we found her as she was trying to fight it off. She sealed herself in the tower..."

"To protect us," Hay Lin said assertively. "That's what it felt like."

"Right. She let us in when we... communed together, I guess, at the top of the tower. She was lying on the... altar, I'm thinking, where the Infection was contained. It broke out and tried to get to Will. It did, eventually, and tried to enter her mouth and nostrils until we stopped it. When we left through that portal the Heart took care of it, something it couldn't do while we were in there. About this time Will..." Taranee looked apologetically at her, "...unknowingly tried to attack Caleb."

"I don't remember any of that!" Will said defensively.

"We know that, Will, it may have been when the Infection was trying to take over. It may have been that Smo... that thing trying to hurt Caleb. When we got down to the basement you stopped fighting after a few seconds. I couldn't really see very well without my glasses, Caleb, but was Will always trying to attack you or was she just trying to get away?"

Caleb cocked his head in thought. "Now that you mention it, she started trying to escape from me just after Hay Lin arrived. As soon as she, Hay Lin, called out my name Will got this scared look in her eyes and tried to get up and run."

"Why would she run from me?" Hay Lin asked with a frown. "I'm not mean-looking, am I?" Everyone chuckled, even Will; Hay Lin was about as terrifying as a Cabbage Patch Kid and probably even less so when she was actually angry, which only served to make her cuter.

"If the Infection was trying to gain control of Will," Taranee theorized, "Then it would want to stay away from other Guardians. This is just a guess, but I think that when Will passed out it was after the Heart destroyed the Infection. It... cut the strings, I guess."

"Cutting the strings..." Hay Lin chewed on the words as she said them. "That sounds kind of traumatic. Do you think that's why Will's memory is all wonky?"

Taranee blinked in surprise at Hay Lin's insight. Often the other girls forgot how quick her mind worked and mistook her erratic thoughts for ditziness. "Uh, yeah. Geez, the whole affair in the Heart qualified as traumatic for all of us. The fact that she remembers anything at all is probably a good sign." She turned to Will. "You remember everybody closest to you, so I'm sure the other details will come back to you eventually." Will smiled shyly.

"Or we could just whack you on the head a few times," Irma joked. Will gave an "eep!" of shock. "Oh, no, babe, I'm kidding! I'd never hurt you!"

"Oh, of course," Will said sheepishly. "I remember that." Irma kicked herself again.

"Irma's sense of humor takes a while to get used to," Yan Lin assured her, "But rest assured that Irma would give her life for her friends, including you. She has watched over you since your arrival in Heatherfield, in fact." Irma stared goggle-eyed at the old woman. _How did she know? Sometimes Mrs. Lin creeps me out. Oh, crud, could she see that... dammit..._

"Really?" Will smiled warmly at Irma.

Irma shrugged nonchalantly even as her body temperature jumped a degree. "Of course. That's what friends do." The others voiced their agreements, Will looking at each happily. As soon as she looked away from Cornelia the Earth Guardian reasserted her gaze on the flowers.

Caleb cleared his throat. "Since Will's memory will return eventually, we should think of where to put her until it does."

"Well, she can stay here, can't she?" Hay Lin asked. "She can stay in the basement when Caleb's in Meridian, and I could clear a place out in the attic..."

"Actually, that may not be possible," Yan Lin interjected. "I am afraid a complication has arose. Some relatives from Hay Lin's mother's side of the family are staying with us a few days this week. This would not be such a problem except that Hay Lin's younger cousins are somewhat... invasive. It would simply not be possible to hide Will from them. We must find a secure location for you to stay, dear."

"Oh, yeah," Hay Lin said with a groan of remembrance. "Marty and Mia are 'invasive', alright."

"Ah, the Terror Twins," Irma said sagely. "Didn't they tear up your underwear drawer and string your, er, _stuff_ all over the restaurant?"

Hay Lin's face darkened in embarassment and adorable rage. "Yeah, they did. Everyone eating here that day got a little _theater_ with their meal! Thank the Oracle there were no complaints." A laughing Yan Lin raised her eyebrows at the statement as the Air Guardian growled. "They _laughed_! Everyone of our customers laughed! At _me_! Just like you're doing now!" Sure enough, the others were chuckling at her recount of "Training Bra Tuesday" as it had been dubbed by Irma.

"Ah ha, yes, I remember that," Yan Lin said as she dried her eyes. "That reminds me: we have to keep an eye on those two when they get here. But back to Will..."

"Why not the Infinite City?" Caleb suggested. The others looked at him in surprise. "It's too risky for her to stay on Earth with her Drop and that's the safest place in Meridian. And while we're there we can take her to see the Mage; maybe she'll know what Inimini was doing before his death."

Yan Lin nodded. "An excellent idea, Caleb. There is no safer place for our recovering leader."

"Meridian?" Will asked with a worried frown. "Isn't that where the bad things are?"

"Yes," Caleb admitted, "But Phobos doesn't know the location of the city so it's very safe there. And you'll have hundreds of my rebels to protect you." Will looked a little reassured by this. "Hay Lin, do you have the map? We need a portal."

"Oh, it's in my backpack! I'll be right back!" Hay Lin bounded out of the room.

"The map..." Will began. "The map that shows portals with the Heart, right?"

The others looked relieved. "That is correct, Will." Yan Lin congratulated.

Will picked up the Heart and frowned at it. "Are you sure it will work? I couldn't transform us earlier..."

"The Heart has a mind of its own at times; perhaps it felt that you were not ready to change yet. In your current state any use of power could be dangerous. And, well, you could use a vacation after your ordeal."

Caleb grunted. "I wouldn't call the Infinite City a vacation spot, but we'll try to make you feel as comfortable as possible, Will."

"Thanks. Uh..." Will's face twisted up. "I... I have so many questions but I'm not sure where to begin."

"That is only natural," Yan Lin assured her. "Maybe the others could tell you more about yourself, give you their perspectives. Girls?"

"Can I start?" Irma said. When no one objected, Irma plowed ahead. "Okay, the first thing you need to know is that you have a really dry wit and you're funny as heck."

"Really?"

"Yep. When Mrs. Lin told us about our powers, you said that if you ever had a party we would be the entertainment! Right off the top of your head!"

Will giggled. "Really?"

"And your mother used to call you her 'Pink Perky Poopy Pumpkin!' And you hated it!" Everyone laughed. "Or was that 'Poopy Perky'?"

"What's so funny?" Hay Lin asked as she reentered the room with the map.

"Just trying to jog Will's memory," Irma said as Hay Lin spread the map out on the table. "Okay, Will, you take the Heart and..." Irma was surprised to see that Will was already doing what she had been about to suggest. The Heart flared as an red X appeared on the map.

Taranee leaned in and squinted. "Looks like it's in the woods outside of town. I guess that's good; if it won't close behind Will, at least there won't be anybody nearby. If it does close, we''ll use Blunk to find another one."

"Blunk..." Will wrinkled her nose. "The smelly thing?" The others laughed. "Is he... friendly?"

"Oh, yeah, he's very friendly," Hay Lin said. "Well, his smell isn't very nice, but he helps us keep track of portals that pop up around Heatherfield. Uh, you do remember this is Heatherfield, right?"

Will nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Hmmm... I remember a lot about this town. We go to Sheffield Institution..." More laughs. "Oh, Institute, I mean. This place is the _Silver Dragon_, Hay Lin's home. My home is that way." She pointed in the general direction of her apartment. "Home... do you think I can stop by and see my mother before we leave for Meridian, Caleb?"

Caleb looked at Yan Lin, who shook her head. "I am afraid it might be took risky. Susan Vandom is a single parent of an only child and she is an incredibly observant woman and would surely notice your... condition. If you like, we can have your Drop retrieve a photo of her before you leave."

Will looked disappointed, but nodded her understanding. "I guess you're right, and I'd like a picture of her to take with me." She fidgeted as if uncomfortable. "I'm... I'm the only one with one parent, aren't I? And I don't have brothers or sisters, either."

"Well, yes, biologically speaking, but _we're_ your sisters now," Hay Lin reassured her. "And Caleb only has a dad. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with your family. Your mom loves you very much, if all the grounding she gives you is any indication."

Will frowned. "I'm grounded a lot? Am I bad?"

"No, no, it's just that being a Guardian can take up a lot of time and energy. Sometimes we get in late, sometimes we don't finish schoolwork... I guess I'm lucky that Grandma knows because she can cover for me."

"You have to remember that, Will," Taranee warned. "Nobody on Earth except the people in this room know we're Guardians."

"I remember. So, what now?"

"First we have to get you some clothes and supplies to take with you," Hay Lin said. "Let's rummage through my closet and see what you like."

"Don't stand in front of it!" Irma warned.

Hay Lin rolled her eyes. "Duh, it's my room. I know how to get around it."

"And watch out for the hockey stick that sometimes falls from the right." Irma rubbed her head as the memories whacked her repeatedly in her mind.

Hay Lin blinked. "Um, okay. C'mon, Will." They left, Will waving awkwardly at the others.

"Hay Lin played hockey?" Taranee asked Irma.

Irma shrugged. "Not to my knowledge. I've stopped trying to figure out why she has the half the things she does in there. No wonder she likes Blunk; they're both packrats." Irma stretched and sprawled out in her chair. "So, what does everyone think about this new Will? I for one am really vexed about this Caleb fascination she has."

Caleb's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" He knew what she meant, he just didn't want to admit it.

Cornelia growled in frustration and thinly veiled jealousy. "Oh, like you haven't noticed. You're like her big hero now just because you were the first one of us she saw. It's like she imprinted on you or something."

"Oh, that. I'm sure it's just a passing thing, until she gets her memory back." Oh, he hoped it was. Though Caleb was used to adoring females, this was something else entirely.

"It would appear that Will has anchored herself to you in her trauma," Yan Lin suggested. "This may be a good thing; with you as her moral center, she can rebuild who she was prior to the incident. Your encouragement would be most helpful while she is recovering."

"So that means," Irma stated harshly, "none of your 'Girls are Stupid' remarks."

Caleb glared at her. "Excuse me?"

Cornelia actually leapt to Irma's defense. "It's true; all you do is complain about how we're _supposedly _not as good as you are."

"I never said that... I just said you lacked focus and discipline because you're too busy worrying about your clothes and what passes for men in this dimension. That's all."

Yan Lin rose quickly. "And that is my cue to leave. The restaurant won't run itself, after all." She hustled toward the door. When it closed, the battle began.

"_That's_ _all_?" Irma repeated harshly. "You cutting us down is no big deal to you, huh? Well, we can take it, but if you try that with Will consider your ass _drowned_!"

Caleb reared to his full height as he stared down at the two seated girls. "You _must_ be stupid if you think I'd say something like that to her now, or ever. Of all of you... _girls_... Will's the one best-suited to being a Guardian. I respect her more than you think; hells, I'd recruit her as a rebel if I could. Taranee and Hay Lin, too. _You_ two I'm not so sure of"

Cornelia bristled. "Oh, we're not good enough to be Guardians, huh? Who are you to judge us?"

"Me? I'm just a guy that's been waging a war for his entire life, but hey, what do I know about that sort of thing! Maybe if I knew how to 'accessorize' you'd listen to me more!"

Irma stood and got in Caleb's face. "Listen, pal, we didn't ask for this. It's not like we signed up at Career Day to fight monsters and take lip from punks like you! We're practically doing you a favor!"

Caleb leaned closer until they were nearly nose to nose. "Favor? Your world's in danger, too, and it's because of punks like me that Phobos hasn't already invaded your soft, weak, and _spoiled_ dimension, so you'd best show me some respect, _Guardian_."

"Oh, I'd love to give you what you deserve!" The water in the restaurant's pipes began to shake the wall as it strove to defend its mistress from possible attack. "Hell, when Will gets better, I'll show you exactly how good a Guardian I am!"

"Then what's stopping you now?" It occurred to Irma that the male body was seventy percent water. _How much of a dick would Caleb be when his own was shriveled up like a raisin_? _Let's find out!_

"Guys! What are you doing!" They all whirled to see Hay Lin staring at them in shock.

Irma backed away and waved furiously at Caleb. "Mr. Hero was telling us how we were terrible Guardians. Anything you'd like to say to Hay Lin while you're at it?" Hay Lin looked at Caleb with a worried expression.

Caleb felt his anger dissipate at her fearful eyes. "I didn't say that. I just... wish you would understand what it's like to live like I do. You think I'm some sort of jerk that likes to push girls around, but... this isn't my home, do you understand that? Earth... it's a paradise here. I wish Meridian could be like this, but the only way it will be is with Elyon on the throne and you five are the only way that will happen. If I could fight all the battles alone, take all the danger and pain myself... I would. I would die to save our homes and our families in a second. So forgive me when I get a little upset that the future of my people ranks behind shoes and dating."

The Guardians stared at him in disbelief and shame. He turned to look at Irma. "And don't worry; I won't say a thing to Will that isn't encouraging. I really do care about her... and you." He left through the door Hay Lin came in, patting the girl on the shoulder and smiling reassuringly at her. His eyes were sad, though.

When he was gone Hay Lin walked over to the map and rolled it up. "Sorry, forgot it. Will's taking a shower now... what did he mean by that, not upsetting Will?" No one answered her. "Oh. Right. Um, did anyone hear the pipes rattling?" The other girls shook their heads wearily. "Oh. I could have sworn..."

Hay Lin was staring at nothing in particular when she noticed the orchids she'd put in her grandmother's favorite vase earlier this morning. Whereas as once they were white and full of life, the flowers had withered and became brown and sickly. Next to her, Cornelia stared at her hands, trying to command them to stop shaking.

Three floors down, "She" grinned as she looked up at the ceiling before returning her attention to the article she was reading in Cosmopolitan. It was titled, "How To Get A Guy in Ten Minutes." Body language, right things to say, right things to wear, right things _not _to wear...

Interesting. Very interesting. _Will should definitely read up on this_, "Will" thought, _But then again, it's not really her thing, being aggressive. And who would know her better than me? Oh, continued on page 107? So much to learn, so little time..._

* * *

Author's Note: You know what my least favorite fanfiction cliches are? Sudden slash, evil twins, original characters, and amnesia. And they're all in this story. Wonderful. 

And speaking of cliches, the Phobos/Cedric discussion was partially a playful poke at the slash fics wrote about the two and the Will/Phobos 'ship. Just a poke, mind you; whatever floats your boat row through it, I say. Though when Cedric theorized about the Prince's fascination with Will, those were my thoughts exactly. Don't think I'll do a Will/Phobos fic (Phill? Wibos?) or mention it in this story again, but all you Phill writers out there have my support and understanding. I mean, Phobos stares at her _way_ too much for you not to write about it, it just compels you.

Like I said in the first note, this story drew a lot of inspiration from the comics because at the time this was started the show seemed very different from them; I've literally been at this since October of last year (along with other stories) and I've even written the ending already (I'm so proud, I feel compelled to finish the story just so you can read it.) I was initially unsure whether the Oracle or even Candracar actually existed in the show so they aren't going to be a big part of the overall story. Nerissa may make an appearance since I've just gotten an idea of how to tie the story in with season two that you guys may like. Heavy spoilers, though, so I'll warn you before I start the chapter. Also, the "Sheffield Institution" remark was borrowed shamelessly from the books, but it seemed appropriate.

As for where Will keeps the Heart when transformed, the only time I remember seeing her pull it out it looked like it appeared (magically?) out of her sternum. She may have also kept it in her big ole sleeves a few times but I can't really recall. Maybe she keeps in that pocket dimension called Hammerspace, where girls in anime find the mallets they use to bash idiot boys and perverts, but who can say?

If you're interested in some good W.I.T.C.H. sites, try checking the eternal links on the W.I.T.C.H.Wikipedia entry. A favorite of mine is http/www.marge.it/haylinpage, an Italian site with a great gallery and an excellent layout. Mostly in Italian of course, but don't let that stop you. I use some of the pictures as refererence material, like with the "Closet" forms of the girls in Chapter Two.

As of this update, Chapter Five is halfway done and several other stories are nearing Chapter One completion. Check my profile for more info, I'm talking way too much as it is.


	5. Hiding Under My Flesh

Disclaimer: W.I.T.C.H. isn't mine, especially not the lovely Miss Vandom. Oh, no... fanboy urgings... too strong... to resist... arrrggghh! I love you, Will! Olsen will never understand you like I do! B MINE 4-Ever, Keeper of My Heart! (CRASH!)

-----Please Hold for Technical Difficulties-----

Summary: When a mission goes wrong, Will and the Guardians must confront the darkest parts of their souls or risk losing everything. Sometimes the hardest person to face is yourself...

Author's Note: Didn't want to put this on my last note due to space, but while perusing the W.I.T.C.H entries on Wikipedia I was informed that Will was likely not a Capricorn on the show because of the early fall-like weather on the episode, "Happy Birthday, Will." The entry speculated that Will's TV birthday may be in late September or early October, which makes sense since the girls make sure to wear coats before running off to fight Cedric at City Hall. Looking into it, I found Will may still have an earth sign if she is a Virgo by being born from Aug. 23 to Sept. 22.

It's a pretty good sign for the Keeper since it is symbolized by the Virgin (purity, of course) and the tenascious Virgos are very intelligent (strategy), tend to be critical, display selfishness (possessiveness of people) and enjoy natural beauties (frogs, I guess). Both earth signs are compatible with Cornelia's Taurus, so it still works for DGW.

But with that screwy Heatherfield weather, who can tell? Must be the side-effects of being the hometown of the Guardians of the Veil and the source of Earth's magic and such. Must be hell on the real estate market. "So does it snow often here?" "Meh, depends on the episode."

* * *

Your enemy will take your skin, your friend will take your clothes. - Sami Frashëri, Albanian poet and philosopher.

* * *

Chapter 5: Hiding Under My Flesh

_As a scientist, I am predisposed to believing the universe is explainable through logic and testing. Mostly this is true, as any natural phenomenon can be explained through interaction of forces not seen by the naked eye. Even magic can be categorized, distilled, labled, and otherwise forced to give up its secrets. But there is one area of existence that has eluded every attempt to explain itself._

_The heart. Not the muscle that pumps life through the veins but the abstract, undefinable quality that "good" and "evil" grow from. Some say it is a choice, others a predestined inclination. Others say it cannot be explained at all._

_I am not one of those people._

Entry 001, Inimini's Journals, "Chrysalis Project"

* * *

"I wish we had one of those Middle-Eastern things, you know, those full-body veils? What do they call them?" 

"Burquas, Irma."

"Thanks, T. We could wrap you up in one of those, Will, and march you out right alongside yourself."

"Oh, like that wouldn't make people suspicious. When was the last time you saw one in Heatherfield? And they look horrible; I mean, ugh! Women's lib, hello? I dig the belly dancers' outfits, though."

"You speak for freedom, Corny. Truth, justice, and designer shoes in every closet. Hey, that could be your platform: 'Cornelia Hale '07! No Polyester On My Watch!'"

"Don't call me Corny, but you have a point there, Irma. If everyone put more thought into how they dressed, there'd be less war."

"Hmmm, you're on to something there, blondie. Who'd want to fight in the trenches if they were wearing Prada shoes? Look at Phobos and Cedric. Good _god. _With outfits like that how could they not be evil?"

"Admit it, Irma, my way is the way to world peace."

"A fashion dictatorship? Oh, lord. Who's your cabinet, the Queer Eye guys?"

"And Joan Collins would be the Grand Inquisitor for your regime!"

"Hay Lin! Whose side are you on?"

"Freedom of expression's side, Cornelia; I'm afraid I would have to oppose your fashion dictatorship with my highly trained paintball commandos that pelt anyone wearing fur. Poor annie-mals..."

"Eeewww, like I would allow real fur in the Federation of Cornelia! Gross!"

"She's named it! She's had a plan this entire time! Conspiracy!"

"You're on the black list, Irma. You will only wear pinstripes and blue skirts with brown socks for the rest of your natural life."

"She's mad with power! Quick, someone travel back in time and bump off her grandfather or something!"

"Uh, guys?"

"Fight for freedom, fight for Casual Fridays! Never... oh... yeah, Will?"

"What's a... 'Prod-da'? Is it a fish?"

"Uh, no. It's a brand name."

"Ah."

Though Caleb didn't understand half of what they were saying at times, the girls were actually quite entertaining in their conversations. They had sequestered themselves in Hay lin's room and were trying to dress Will _incognito_ in order to get her and Caleb to the portal. The Guardian Guy was not allowed in, naturally, and was waiting on them to finish. At the rate they were going, Will's memory would return by the time they had decided on an outfit. _Huh, girls_.

He decided not to push them; after his battle with Irma and Cornelia earlier, he and they were on shaky footing as it was. Even with his slip about caring for Irma as well as the others, they were still edgy around him. Caleb was amazed that he could intimidate them at all; most of the time they treated him like an annoying child. He was disconcerted when he considered the possibility that they might actually be afraid of him now; Caleb could no more hurt one of them than he could have his own flesh-and-blood. For better or worse, he knew now he honestly loved every one of the Guardians, at least as friends.

Caleb groaned for no apparent reason. Somehow, the very thought made him uneasy and _that _made him feel worse in turn. Was he this unaccustomed to caring for others? Sure, he had male friends, but that was different and one of the few things that remained consistent in both worlds: you can love your mates, but you have to beat the snot out of them to show it. Aldarn and Drake would run him through if he tried to hug them, and Caleb would return the favor. With "fem-friends"(as Hay Lin called them since "girl friends" was too close to "girlfriends" or something like that) you had to be gentle.

Caleb wasn't particularly _good_ at gentle (in conversation, anyway, and what he was gentle at was something he would never, _ever_ try on Hay Lin), hence the problems he had in talking, dealing with, and just plain understanding _them_. Wooing women was easy enough, women in the rebellion followed his order in battle without fail, but the Guardians fell in between them into some strange niche all their own. And despite that, he was probably closer to them than anyone besides his father and Aldarn. The thought of losing their trust was a terrifying prospect. It would be like... like... Caleb didn't even have a frame of reference for how bad it would be.

His head snapped up when the door opened and a smiling Hay Lin walked out. "She's ready! I think we did a good job, too! Will, come show Caleb how you don't look like you any more!"

There was a flurry of protesting voices and thumps of impact before Will stumbled out of the room, apparently shoved from behind. Caleb could agree that she didn't look like herself anymore, that was for sure. As for how subtle the disquise was...

With Will's bright red hair and distinctive complexion the first order of business had been to cover her head. A blue scarf decorated by Hay Lin to resemble a starry night sky was wrapped around Will's hair and left only her face exposed. Thick aviator sunglasses covered her hazel eyes and made her look like a human-shaped bug to Caleb. Her lips were covered with purple lip gloss with sparkles in it, a make-up style native to Earth that Caleb had never really understood; if a makeup was supposed to highlight beauty, what were the sparkles supposed to do? He'd yet to see an Earth female that had sparkling skin but, admittedly, he hadn't traveled much on Earth.

In order to cover as much epidermis as possible the girls had given Will an old pair of Hay Lin's overalls; several shades of paint splattered at various places around some bleached white areas, likely caused by paint-thinner. A red turtle-neck sweater covered her arms and throat, leaving only part of her face and her hands visible, which could be remedied if she put them in the overalls' pockets. Rounding out the disguise was a pair of white tennis shoes, probably the cheapest footwear you could buy on Earth and lacking even a visible brandname or logo. These symbols seemed important to Earthers, perhaps representing some important aspect of their beings like only eating vegetables or their sexual orientation; Caleb resolved to ask Hay Lin about this later.

He finished his examination when he realized that Will and Hay Lin were waiting for his response. "Uh, I think that'll keep anyone from recognizing her..." For perhaps the first time in his life, Caleb actually took the diplomatic route: he flat-out lied. "Yeah, yeah, it'll work. Good job."

Hay Lin beamed. "Thanks! I know it looks a little attention-grabbing, but I figure if they're looking at the clothes they won't look at her."

Caleb patted himself on the back for his restraint. When it came to clothes he should probably trust the girls more; it was like a cultural requirement that Earth girls know as much about garments as possible. In that sense, Cornelia was probably the most intelligent one of the group, if not the entire realm of "Amare Ikka." "Good thinking, Hay Lin. Have you got her things?"

Hay Lin held up a large gym bag with both skinny arms visibly straining aginst the weight. "Right... here!" She dropped it on the floor. "Whew! It can get drafty in the City so I packed some warm clothes, sweaters, warm-ups, leg-warmers, stuff like that. Er, I guess the Drop can pick up some underwear when we go by Will's apartment..."

"Hay Lin!" Will whined, not happy about discussing her bras and panties in front of Caleb.

"Oh, sorry. You always were shy, Will, but it's okay; Caleb is _very_ professional. Right, Caleb?"

"Me? Oh, yeah. What do I care about that... sort of thing?" Somehow he managed to say that with a straight face. "So, we'll stop by Will's apartment, grab her... _retrieve_ her _things_, and head for the portal. Anything else?"

Hay Lin nodded. "Well, Grandma did put some things together for the rebels. Blankets, canned food, some tools. It's in the storage room downthe hall. We told Mom and Dad it was for a charity drive to throw them off." Unlike Taranee, Hay Lin seemed to find tricking her parents to be amusing; it probably helped that Yan Lin was in on it.

"Whatever you can give us will be appreciated. Uh, is there any..."

"Chocolate?" Hay Lin turned to Will and waggled her thin eyebrows. "Caleb says the chocolate's for the _children_, but _I_ think he's just hoarding it."

Caleb blanched at the accusation. "No, I'm not! It really _is_ for the children!"

"Yeah, yeah," Irma said as she and the other girls entered the hall. "And how many times have we caught you with ice cream cones crammed in your mouth?"

Caleb would have been irritated but the look on Irma's face was genuinely playful; maybe he had been forgiven during the interval. Dressing each other up seemed to have a calming effect on the Guardians. Still, he had to defend himself. "Hey, Will can see for herself where it goes. And I like the ice cream because we don't have refridgerators in Meridian..."

Irma glanced wryly at Will. "One thing to know about Caleb: he can't take a joke."

Caleb growled, "What joke? You were attacking my honor by saying I withheld food from hungry children..."

Hay Lin sighed and lightly tapped her fist on Caleb's shoulder. "Caleb, no one was saying that. Honestly, didn't you ever just have fun as a kid, play pranks on people?"

Caleb searched his memory. "The only 'fun' I ever had involved raiding storehouses or arms practice, not saying things we don't mean. You complicate things on this planet too much, ice cream or not."

"Raiding storehouses?" Will asked. "Why would you do that?"

"To eat, mainly." Caleb said matter-of-factly. A dreamy look came into his eyes as he continued. "We'd spend a day or two checking out the guards rotations and shifts, memorizing the layout and deliveries, that sort of thing." He smiled as the memories rushed back at him. "And then, just before nightfall or dawn, we struck! We'd subdue the guards, not killing them if we could help it because bloodshed spoiled the fun a lot, and then we'd pull up the wagon to the front of the storehouse and start a human chain to the supplies. We'd have to move fast before the next shift and when we were done we slowly, _slowly_ drove out of there like we had no reason to be in a hurry. When we were back at the Infinite City we'd celebrate by handing out the food. I tell you, there's nothing better than seeing the faces on the people you're... what?"

The girls were staring at him like they'd never seen him before. The fact that Caleb's fondest memory as a child was feeding hungry rebels said a lot about his present demeanor. "Uh, nothing," Hay Lin said, fighting an urge to give him a big hug. "Maybe I should send some more canned veggies with you."

"That's be great. Oh, but no carrots. They give Aldarn hives. Or something like hives. He wouldn't let me see them."

"...good to know." Will bent to pick up her bag.

"Here, let me carry that," Irma offered. "You're still a little puny after all that sleeping..."

"I can handle it!" Will said defensively. She picked up the bag and slung it over her shoulder. Caleb leaned in and caught her when the weight of the bag caused her to tip over and begin to fall backwards. He righted her and tried not to grin; Will blushed fiercely under her scarf and shades. "Right... thanks, Caleb."

"Maybe you _should_ let Irma carry those," the rebel leader suggested. "I have to carry the supplies or I'd do it. You don't want to push yourself too fast."

"Oh, alright," Will relented, "but I'm perfectly fine. I just... can't remember anything." Caleb took the bag from her (one-handed, impressing the girls) and handed it to Irma, who shot him a grateful look for his intervention hidden under a straining expression. The only response he could think of was a shrug.

"I am afraid I require Irma for a little longer," Yan Lin said as she walked down the hall. "Taranee, would you carry the bag, please?"

Taranee and Irma looked at each other in bewilderment. The Fire Guardian took the gym bag from her Water counterpart and grunted as the weight settled in on her. "Geez Louise, are we sure we got everything?"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Hay Lin darted back into her room. Sounds of shuffling items and several crashes came through the door as the others awaited her return; Cornelia peeked in the door and winced at something, possibly Hay Lin doing the splits on her dresser as she traversed her jungle of a domicile. When she finally stumbled out of her room the cheery youngster was holding a small package triumphantly in the air. "You're going to need these,Will. Do you remember what they do?"

Will took the package and chuckled as another small blush crept across her features. "Yeah, I remember."

Caleb, having now recognized the importance of boxed items to girls in this dimension, discreetly examined his shoes. They needed shining.

* * *

Blunk was very happy with himself. He had searched all night and all day for the perfect thing to bring Leader Girl back to wakey-wakey and the Passling couldn't wait to show the others. 

Blunk entered the _Dragon's _basement through the street-level window and dropped heavily to the floor, burdened by his package but light as air in his heart. As a proprietor Blunk took a certain pride in getting what his customers needed the most. What he had discovered would change Will's life forever.

He was so proud of his achievement that Blunk walked right into the back of "Will's" legs as he strutted across the basement. "Will" recoiled in disgust as Blunk recoiled in surprise to see Red-Head Girl up and about. "Leader Girl awake?! But Blunk have sure-fire cure! Ohhhhh..."

"Will" curled her nose as she beheld (and be-smelled) the Passling. "You! Ugh! I knew I'd have to deal with you sooner or later..."

Blunk smiled at what he perceived as a compliment. "Awwww, Will miss Blunk! Blunk miss Will, gone long time to find right thing make Will better! But Will tough, get better on own! Blunk happy, of course, but wanted to help Will!"

"Then why don't you jump off the bridge? The really _high _bridge?"

Blunk snorted with laughter. "Hee hee, funny! Blunk no do that; that kill Blunk!"

"Wouldn't that be _awful_."

Blunk blinked in confusion. "Er... Leader Girl okay? Sound grouchy. Sleep long time, _really_ grouchy?"

"You could say that, you smelly little piece of crap. I'm awake now and everything is going to change."

"Uhhhhhmmm, okay? But first, Blunk give Will what make her better if not better already. Just in case!" Blunk dropped the small bag he was carrying and pulled out... a pump. Not a bicycle pump, or a water pump, but a certain kind of pump that originated from Sweden and was not at all useful for a thirteen-year-old girl. It was the sort of thing you wanted Caleb to find out about just to see the expression on his face.

"Will" stared at the pump for several long seconds and then burst out laughing. "You stupid little freak! You have no idea what that is, do you?"

Blunk frowned and glanced at the pump. "Errr... sucky thing to suck out bad air in Will? No?"

"'No'? No, you idiot. I'd tell you what it is, but you're not even worth the effort. Just get out of here before you annoy me any more."

"What? Blunk not annoying, girls like Blunk..."

"Like you? We can't even _breathe _around you! You're only good for portal-sniffing, but if it was up to me, I'd have left you in that hole I found you in! Should've had Irma drown you right there, if only I could do it over!"

Blunk's ears drooped and he hunched over, his long fingers wringing the prized pump in distress. "Will... Will just grouchy, not mean to say mean things..."

And then she kicked him. Blunk, like all of his people, had been kicked numerous times over the years. Most times, including this one, it didn't hurt because Passlings are incredibly tough creatures for their size and knew how to roll with a blow. While Blunk was not physically damaged by "Will's" foot connecting with his sternum the emotional impact was far worse. He skittered across the floor until his back slammed into the concrete wall, the inappropriate pump that was still a heartfelt gift falling from his grasp.

His beady eyes locked fearfully onto "Will's" as she advanced on him. "I despise you, we all do, and if I see you again I'll drop you right into Phobos' lap myself. Do you understand, you stupid Passling?" Though he didn't understand, Blunk nodded. "Now leave. And if you tell the others what I've told you, you are _dead_. Simple as that." A pause. "Go!"

Blunk scrambled up the wall and through the small window, eager to get away from this new Will.

This bad Will.

* * *

Irma frowned as she rubbed the cuts on her arm. They had started stinging again to the point of distraction. Yan Lin noticed this and said, "I want to look at your injuries now that Will has gone; I didn't want to upset her before." 

"Oh, sure, Mrs. Lin." Irma hadn't even thought about that; another strike against her for Will's protection.

"Let us use my room since you will have to remove your shirt. Are there any signs of infection?"

"Nope." Irma followed her into her room and sat at the end of her bed. As she unbuttoned her jacket she glanced at pictures of the Lins that adorned the walls. Some of them even included Irma, like the one with her and Hay Lin in Kindergarten wearing matching pink dresses, Irma with a band-aid on her knee and her friend clutching a stuffed alien doll. The photos reminded Irma of her conversation with Taranee yesterday. "You have a lot of pictures, Mrs. Lin. How come none of them are of you as a kid?"

"Ah... back then, pictures were still very expensive to make. What few I did have were destroyed in a fire some years before little Hay Lin was born."

"I'm sorry," Irma said earnestly as she started to remove her shirt. "I didn't realize... _hissssss_!" Raising her arms up caused her cuts to sting and make Irma do her best Cedric impression. "Ow... I'm okay."

Yan Lin frowned at the gashes as she replied. "No worries, little one. The pictures are gone, but the memories remain. I have found the two don't always match up, to be honest, and I much prefer the memories. I'm a lot cuter in those, ha! Mmmm... has bleeding been a problem? They are not healing well..." She began to dab herbal oils on them, causing Irma to wince at the continued pain.

Irma shook her head. "No, they haven't been bleeding, except in the shower. They just sting a little when I throw my arm up... the middle one is the worst; I guess since the Infection was woman-shaped and the middle-finger is the longest one that would be deepest. Not that I'm griping or anything," Irma added.

"Oh, yes, Irma must always be the tough one," Yan Lin affirmed with a smile. "That is one thing I have learned about you over the years. Goodness, I've known you for almost as long as I have my own grandaughter, haven't I? I knew as soon as I laid eyes on you that you would be a good friend to Hay Lin."

"Thanks, Mrs. Lin. I try to be... I wish I had looked after Will better, though... what you said earlier, about me protecting Will? How... what made you say that?"

"Oh, now she's the coy one! One good thing about being old is that you get a feel for people over the years. Your position as Will's 'guardian' is obvious to my old eyes. And the guilt you feel is just as clear as that. What happened was not your fault, dear, and you did well inside the Heart. You remind of another Water Guardian I once knew; always playful, protective of her friends, and full of love."

Irma chuckled. "I don't know if it's love I'm full of... wait, another Water Guardian? You mean one of your friends?"

A dark look passed briefly over Yan Lin's face "I... oh, you haven't eaten have you? Let me put these bandages on and... there! Now, get dressed and meet me in the kitchen; you can't look after Will on an empty stomach!" With almost supernatural speed the elderly lady was gone, leaving a confused Irma sitting on her bed.

Confused, but not clueless. Irma knew a snowjob when she was bowled over by one. It was irritating that Mrs. Lin was so secretive about her past as a Guardian since she was the only person who knew what they were going through; the woman epitomized the hands-off approach when it came to teaching. Still, something in her eyes had never been seen by Irma before: pain. Maybe that was a clue to her mysterious past and if so, Irma was content to let her keep her secrets. For now.

Irma tugged on her shirt and wrapped her jacket around her waist as she hurried after the others. Taking the stairs two at a time, Irma felt her mood lift a little. Yeah, things had been bad these past two days, but they were on the rebound and Will would get her memory back in no time at all; heck, even the Astral Drop was working really well, so well they could probably take it to school tomorrow. And this wierd new crush, well, what could she do about it until Will was a hundred percent again, so why stress?

Irma grinned as the now-familiar rush ran through her being. She hadn't been lying when she told Taranee that would have became a Guardian in a heartbeat. There was just something about being more than what people saw you as that made you feel, well, unstoppable. Like nothing could even slow you down for a second.

"Hey, pretty Momma!"

The Unstoppable Irma Lair came to lurching halt, nose to nose with her biggest foil. "...Martin?"

* * *

In an extremely annoying case of irony for a giant snake, Cedric hated swamps with every ounce of his malevolent being. 

It wasn't the smell, which was rather comforting and reminiscent of his childhood. It wasn't the creatures themselves, most of which were quite edible, at least for a Beast. No, what really rankled Cedric was the _disorder_ of the eco-system itself; everything spilling over into the other in a sad but eloquent display of the chaos that pervaded the natural world. Cedric had to hand it to the humans of Earth who built their cities and parking lots over the fetid acres he so despised; not a bad philosophy for monkeys with sticks of fire.

Still, when Phobos ordered him to contact Belantha he knew that meant searching out the usual territories the human frequented. Most of the time she could be located in a border town at the edge of Torus Glais, a region of Meridian dominated by an enormous (of course) swamp. Cedric often wondered why someone as capable as Belantha didn't seek better accomendations in Phobos' service.

The fact Phobos killed her father may have had something to do with it. Honestly, some people were so sentimental about familial ties; if Cedric had possessed any hang-ups about throttling his siblings, he'd never have made it out of the nest. Cedric's mouth twitched as he held back a grin at the memory.

Regardless of the circumstances, Belantha's sire was killed after performing some vital task for the Prince's rise to power. Considering the timing, it may have been related to the sudden disappearance of the royal family, yet Cedric knew better than to ask. He could postulate, however, and considering Phobos magically bound the father's blood line (with the actual blood, no less) to serve him or die a painful, lingering death the man must have been either unsuccessful or just caught the Prince on a bad day. It wasn't like he was a good person by any stretch of the term, yet little "Bel'" (as Cedric called her in rare fits of affection) seemed genuinely distraught at his passing.

Despite her flaws Cedric held a certain fondness for the young rogue, now fifteen seasons and deadlier than most killers twice her age. For a human she had an almost reptilean mindset mixed with sudden outbursts of sentiment that gave her an unpredictable quality; truly a study in contrasts, Belantha. Cedric himself could be accused of harboring sentiment for a least one being in the universe, so perhaps it was a psychological necessity that transcended race and species that every free-willed sentient care about someone or something more than themselves, be it a cause, fellow being or a deity. The only exception to this Cedric had encountered was his employer, unless nebulous "power" could be counted in the criteria.

Cedric mused all this as he idly tossed the body of a bandit into the frothy waters of the Glais; the fool had tried to rob what he thought to be a lost noble. Once crushed throat later, the man learned the error of his assessment. Or didn't, as the case was.

Cedric watched disspassionately as the body sank into the swamp, than explode into a frenzy of red bubbles as something made a meal of the man's mortal shell. The smell of blood reached Cedric's nostrils and made his stomach growl unsettingly; he sniffed and walked quickly past the spectacle, disgusted at himself for even unconsciously considering the human's cadaver a meal.

Despite the propaganda stating otherwise and the threats made at prisoners whose tongues needed loosening, Lord Cedric had standards about his choice of meats... barring very rare occasions. Besides, the highway robber hadn't bathed in days; there was nothing more repugnant to Cedric's senses than unwashed humanity.

He continued along the muddy bank past rotten piers and beached boats before he sighted the small establishment he'd found Belantha at several times in the past, a quaint little hovel whose name was known in more polite circles as "Enormous Genitals." Simply charming.

As much as it pained him to, Cedric inhaled and flicked his tongue out to catch some of the stench radiating out from the inn and caught Bel's aroma amid a flood of scents he tried not to think about. Focusing as intently on Belantha as possible, Cedric detected the strong hints of lust in her sweat and breath.

Ah, she was "hunting" tonight. Cedric felt a little thrill at being the one to stop her carnal search; it was rather like jabbing a dagger between spread fingers, never knowing if you were going to impale yourself with the wrong move. If she hadn't been human, Cedric might have fallen in love with her.

Cedric made to open the door to the hovel and was not entirely surprised when it fell inward to the floor with a loud _crash_. Sighing at the indignity of it all, Cedric entered the rats' nest and scanned the few customers inside for Belantha.

Amid the river refuse and the impoverished clumps of bipedal scum Belantha stood out like a panther among alley cats. Clad entirely in a black leather jumpsuit even darker than the night and the exact shade of her cropped hair that hung to her jawline, only the brown skin of her hands and and face stood out in the in the gloom of the tavern. The born killer lunged in a rickety chair that barely seemed to hold her weight as a young human male tried to impress her enough for permission to mate. By the look on her face, he wasn't succeeding.

Her jade green eyes flicked over at Cedric as he neared, but the Beast knew she'd been aware of him since he'd made his rather loud entrance. The male looked up and scowled at the handsome stranger whom he thought had the same amorous designs as himself. Cedric smiled pleasantly at him, an expression that still managed to look like mocking laughter. "I'm sorry, my friend," he said in a low smooth voice that many had likened to a serpent sliding against a victim's flesh, "but I require this young lady for the evening." He was so thrilled to see Bel that Cedric didn't feel like adding another body to tonight's list.

The male was about to get himself killed by arguing with the Beast when Belantha shot him a look that made even Cedric's false skin crawl. The suddenly very intelligent youth excused himself by citing a previous engagement and walked calmly over the fallen door, then broke into a run once out-of-sight.

_Even the stupidest prey knows when predators are about_, Cedric mused as he now smiled warmly (for him, anyway) at little Bel. "I am no judge, of course, but I fear I have just deprived you of a suitable specimen." And the dagger began to drop...

Belantha waved a dismissive hand past her face, a motion that could just as likely sent a metal dart into Cedric's eye. "Don't puff up yet, Boot Face," she said in voice devoid of culture but thick with animal instincts, "He was a no-go, as it turns out."

"Indeed... may I sit?" Belantha gestured to the vacated seat, causing Cedric to stiffen instinctively under his concealing robes at the movement. It was not fear, but respect. "Thank you. Why did you not find him appealing? If I may inquire?"

Belantha grimaced. "Marriage runes on his forearm; tried to hide it with bandages. Ha! If you're going to cheat, cheat with some _meat_ for gods' sakes."

"I see... you wished him to be more brazen?"

"Hardly. I may be nearly everything under the sun, but not _everything_. Some things should be sacred, I think. Nearly ended him myself had you not come along. Thanks for that, by that way; owner doesn't like me doing that, bad for business, stains, the like. So, Ric, what's the business now? I know what you're not after," she said with a grin, "so it must be an especially nasty assignment from our much beloved prince."

Cedric leaned back and chuckled at the girl's brazen nature; their mutual contempt of Phobos was one of several things they had in common. "You are correct, of course, but it is still a pleasure to see you regardless, my dear. I'll get straight to the point, since I know you prefer it that way."

"S'truth."

"Very well. A... delicate situation has arisen. A plan of our liege's has gone slightly awry and now poses a significant threat to the kingdom. We would like you to... remedy it, if need be."

Belantha frowned and placed a long leg on the table and idly played with a dagger strapped to her boot. "'If need be'? Oh, Ric, don't me this one of those 'hurry up and do nothing' assignments, you know I hate those." The truth was, she hated them all but the HUDO ones were the worst.

"I am afraid so. But do not fret; this particular assignment is quite different from the ones you have completed prior. It will take you to a place you've likely never been before."

She laughed. "Oh, Ric, I've been everywhere. In _several_ senses. What's this place supposed be, Candracar? You want me to whack the big O for ya?"

"Not quite, but you are not that far off." Belantha's interest was piqued now, though she showed no sign of it. "We wish you to go to Earth and monitor one of the Guardians. The Keeper of the Heart of Candracar, actually. If she begins to act strangely, to... change we want you to... well, you can guess."

For the first time in all the years he had known her, Bel actually looked surprised. But only briefly. "Damn, you don't play around, do you, Ric? The Guardians... I heard they'd come back and were giving you all kinds of hells, so I figured you'd call me eventually."

"You _are_ the best, Bel."

"Hmmph, whatever. As always, I got no choice, but what the hells do you mean by 'change'? If you want her dead, why should I wait for her to get more dangerous?"

Cedric sighed inwardly. This next part would have to be phrased carefully. "While the Guardians are a nuisance, attacking them directly without provocation would cause unpleasant circumstances with their benefactors." Translation: _We don't want the Council of Candracar on our tails any more than they already are._ "By 'change' I mean any sign that she is becoming more violent or... darker. I apologize for the vagueness, but we not entirely certain what will become of her. Suffice to say, if she shows any sign of attacking the prince she must be eliminated." He paused. "If she turns on her allies or the rebels, well, that would be a boon to our cause."

Belantha stared at him before reponding, "But eventually she'll come for your boss, right?"

"Don't get any idea_sssss_, Bel," Cedric warned, her concern for Belantha overriding his human disquise. "If Phobos thinks that you are slackng in your dutie_ssss_, he will not hesitate to kill you with but a word. You know this."

Bel sighed dramatically. "Well, a girl can dream, can't she? Alright, time for the details. Target's name, description, habits, you know the drill."

Cedric reached into his sleeve and withdrew a sack of scrying dust. Spreading the dust on the table, he manipulated the grains until they formed a rough circle. Cedric blew lightly on the circle and a pillar of the material resolved into a four-inch three-dimsional statue of the Keeper of the Heart; the sand shifted color until her red hair, pink jacket and blue jeans were clearly defined.

It wasn't quite like the marvlous photographs of Earth, but Cedric knew Belantha would need little else. "Her name is Will Vandom, Vandom her surname. She lives with her mother-no father I can determine-and attends an educational facility known as Sheffield Institute. Her most frequent contacts are the other Guardians..." Four more pillars rose and resolved into the other four usurpers. "...so wherever they are, she will likely be. She seems to have an interest in recreational swimming, but little else, no doubt spending most of her time plotting against us."

Belantha ran a finger along the top of the Will-statue's head; the model didn't react, of couirse, but somehow Cedric expected it to. "I love the hair. Maybe I can keep some after I'm done, is that okay?"

Cedric decided not to ask what she would do with it. "I'm afraid not; it could be dangerous. If possible, complete destruction of the body would be preferable." Cedric considered his next words carefully. "This could be the most dangerous task you've ever been given. I... urge caution when making your move. She's more dangerous than you realize." _And perhaps any of us know._

"Yeah, yeah, safety first, won't even know I'm there."

"Good. I trust you can locate a portal on your own?"

"Hell, all I have to do is bribe a Passling with some junk and I'm practically on this Earth." Belantha sat back and pursed her lips. "Never been there before, I admit it. Any thing I should know?"

Cedric smiled. "If I gave you advice, you'd hate me for spoiling your surprise."

"Ha! You're right about that, Beast. I always wanted to meet a Guardian, anyway; are they as cute as your sand sculptures?"

Cedric knew that Belantha's preferences were not as... selective as most humans. "Er, I could not say. But you must realize that they are formidable in direct confrontation and the rebel leader is frequently with them."

"Caleb? Ooh, that's a nice one for sure. And what services does he provide those girls, I wonder?"

Cedric sighed in mild exasperation; was this what it was like to have offspring? If he and Miranda accidentally conceived, he'd be sure to devour the egg sacs if his mate didn't beat him to it. "I merely meant that he is a formidable fighter and may recognize you as a Meridanite. That world is very different than ours and will challenge even your ability to blend in."

"Ah, you're concerned about me, Ric? You're probably the only 'man' that's ever worried about me. Well, except for my father. Speaking of, how is the good Prince these days?"

"Prince Phobos is in excellent health."

"Really? Damn. Well, if I was leeching the life outta everybody I'd be feeling fine, too. Let me get my things together and I'll be off..."

"One moment." Cedric reached inside his robe and pulled out something never before seen in the wilds of Torus Glais: a Timberland backpack. "I procured these clothes while on Earth and they should help you in your mission." He opened the backpack and showed her the contents.

Bel whistled as she pulled out a wristwatch and a bra two sizes too big for her. Holding up the bra, she looked at Cedric expectantly. "What is this, some sort of garrote?"

Cedric smiled with dark amusement. "Some have compared it to such..."

* * *

Author's Note: I was surprised at how short this chapter was, but since starting DJINN I've realized shorter is better, at least in this case. 

And reviewers, God bless you, you make it all worthwhile. I'd like to give some serious kudos to two of you in particular. First, strayphoenix for nailing the one-sided Will/Irma deal as character development and not just slash (even I thought it was just slash, extremely tame slash at most) and also mentioning a study that shows what Irma is going through is statistically common among teenage girls. I am vindicated! And a little intrigued. Thanks, phoenix, and also for pointing out I put Caleb's name in place of Cedric's in the last paragraphs; see what happens when you're your own proof-reader? I corrected it but not before I noticed it was in front of Cedric's musings about him and Miranda having kids... Caleb and Miranda... I shudder.

And big ole thanks to Chi Yagami, for giving me a really twisted idea for a short in honor of one of my consistent readers. For the rest of you, think of it as an apology for taking so long to update this drabble. DJINN is taking up some time, admittedly, and I'm also working on a cartoon crossover story called Never Too Young starring the W.I.T.C.H. girls, of course. But enough excuses, on with the make-up story.

* * *

An Unusual Task

"No, no, no!" Prince Phobos, usurper of the throne of Meridian, feared tyrant of the same kingdom, and all around bad man yelled as he stamped his foot on the thick stones of his throne room. "I specifically asked for _sleep wear_, Cedric! This... this is casual wear _at best_!"

Cedric fought back a sigh that could possibly have caused him physical pain as a result. "I am... sorry, my liege. The girl, the Keeper, she keeps her curtains closed. I was barely able to obtain those without being detected..."

"Excuses do me no good, Cedric! Can't these... 'foe-toes' be taken through strips of fabric?"

"Er, no, my liege." As impressive as Earthern technology was, there were some things even it couldn't do. "Er, my prince, perhaps if I understood your reasoning behind this..." _Insanity_. "...endeavor, I would be better able to to complete the task."

Phobos stared him in the eye and Cedric cringed inwardly at the madness there. "My _reasoning_, Cedric, is that I want it _done_. That is all you need to know."

"Er, yes, my prince, I understand." _The hells I do_, Cedric thought. For weeks now Phobos had been sending him to spy on the Keeper of the Heart and take ridiculous amounts of photos of Will Vandom with even more ridiculous criteria for said images. His latest request had been for pictures of Vandom in her sleeping garb, an extremely difficult task that even topped catching her in swimsuits, a feat that had gotten Cedric expelled from the Heatherfield YMCA upon completion. And though far stronger and more agile than the average human, climbing the storm drain outside the Vandoms' residence and holding a camera at the same time taxed even Cedric's physical prowess. Not to mention his pride and self-image, which were in tatters at this point.

Not that Phobos cared. At all. "Remember, Cedric: _sleepwear_. Especially those ador... those frog pajamas. Now, go!"

"Yes, my..." _Psychotic, perverted. twisted_... "...prince. As you command." Cedric rose and left, trying to ignore the giggles and sounds of glee as Phobos went over the new pictures of the Keeper. Even for an icon of evil and deprivation, some things were just too creepy.

* * *

Twisted, huh? What kind of sicko comes ga-ga of photos of animated teenage girls, anyway? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to downloading W.I.T.C.H. comic scans. Hee, hee, hee, hee... "And the part of Phobos will be played by kookame, and Cedric by his poor laptop!" 

Weird Coincidence: Remember's Susan decision to move to Heatherfield in her internal monologue? I re-wrote that to reflect the scene in the "Year Before" Special of the WITCH comics. Before, I was going to write that Heatherfield reminded her of a friend's name she cared for greatly and saw a brochure for Heatherfield in a travel agency while looking for a place to take a depressed Will. While looking at Witch2326's Photobucket account I was reading Issue 50 and (I am not making this up, I swear) Susan tells Will the reason she picked Heatherfield _was because she had a friend named Heather_, more specifically Heather _Shield_. I'm dying if I'm lying, because I remeber every fact I find out about the WITCH franchise and I had no idea about this!

I hate to brag, but the between this and the "ice slide" and the "Closet" being featured in "Z is for Zenith" I'm damn good at being a WITCH fanfic writer, or psychic or something. And (little hint here) Heather Shield's mention will tie into Never Too Young in a why you won't see coming.


	6. Looking for Signs of Life

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H., Disney does. The character Belantha is mine, but she's more of free agent than anything else. And she's a little scary, to tell the truth.

Summary: When a mission goes wrong, Will and the Guardians must confront the darkest parts of their souls or risk losing everything. Sometimes the hardest person to face is yourself...

Author's Note: Have you noticed anything about the quotes and lyrics I've been putting in front of the chapters? They all have something in common; can you guess what it is? First person to email me the correct answer gets a cameo as a rebel in a later chapter. Just send the name you want and a description of your character's appearance and personality with the answer and you'll be kicking it with Caleb's crew! Oh, and no heroic deaths or love scenes with any characters, sorry. Of course, Blunk is available story-wise if you're twist-er-adventurous enough?

If I like the other entries enough (your characters have a cool description or interesting back-stories) I might just put them in regardless, but only the winner is guaranteed entry. Keep that in mind when you enter them; I'd hate for your participation to go to waste. Be sure to email me the entries through my profile's PM instead of putting them in the Reviews page, of course, and all characters will given proper credit to their creators. I'm not running out of ideas (of all problems, that is unfortunately not one I possess) it's just a little thank you to show how sorry I am for how long it's taken to update. Life: it happens.

* * *

When she raises her eyelids, it's as if she were taking off all of her clothes. - Camilla Collett, Norwegian author

* * *

Chapter 5: Looking for Signs of Life

Say what you will about Martin Tubbs, but if "persistence" was a person, well... he'd be Martin.

After years of courting/pursuing/borderline stalking Irma Lair he probably knew her better than anyone, rivaling even Hay Lin's knowledge of the feisty girl. Why he still bothered was anyone's guess, but at least he had learned when to cut and run (usually when Irma started chasing him). With his many years of experience with his dream girl Martin felt that he had a good bead, so to speak, on Irma Lair by now.

Naturally, Martin was thrilled to run into Irma on this fine Sunday afternoon, just like he was thrilled to run into her on any day, fine or not. But when the euphoria wore off, Martin noticed Irma wasn't wearing her usual irritated expression; she actually looked shocked to see him. And guilty. "Martin?"

Despite the initial confusion, Martin persevered as always. "That's my name!" Time to pour on the charm. "You're looking as lovely as always, my little clam! Are you getting some lunch? May I join you?"

Irma just stared at him. Which was unusual as she always tried to look somewhere else when Martin was in her face, something her unsuitable suitor picked up on instantly. "Uhhhhh... eating, eating... oh, no. Ha ha!" It sounded like she was consulting with herself. "Actually... I was just on my way out. Um, sorry?"

Okay, something was definitely wrong. Irma never apologized to him, at least not without causing him minor injuries first. "Uh, Cupcake? Is everything okay?"

_Don't call me Cupcake! I am not a pastry and _especially _not _your_ pastry! _That was what she was supposed to have said. "Sure, everything's fine, great! Uh, how about you?"

Martin frowned. "Okay, I guess." There was an awkward pause, another rare thing that happened between them; both silently missed the yelling that usually occurred. "Uhhhhhh... I like your hair."

They both knew her hair was the same as it had always been. "Thanks. Um, I really need to be going... the guys already have a huge headstart on me."

And this was the part where Martin would drone on about "Parting sweetly but sorrowfully" as Irma made her get-away. "Uh, sure, no problem."

"...see you tomorrow," Irma said woodenly as she made for the door. Martin reached out and grasped her shoulder to stop her and ask what was really wrong; he was horrified when Irma gave a pained yelp and pushed his hand away, her face twisting in agony at his touch.

For Martin, it was a taste of pure Hell that he had hurt his personal angel. "Irma, I'm sorry! Did I... I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay..." She sucked in a breath. "It's... a scrape. Stings a little." The hurt look on Martin's face made her feel even worse than he did; while she often cursed the day she met him, her admirer would never harm her on purpose. "You couldn't know, Martin, it's not your fault."

"Still... I'm so sorry." Martin scratched his head and looked slightly nervous instead of the unreasonably self-confident he usually was; for a split-second, he actually looked... _cute_. Platonically cute, maybe, and definitely not Andrew Hornby smoking-hot cute, but... "Irma, if you ever need anything, I'm here. To do things. Uh..."

Irma realized she needed to get away from the restaurant, fast. If Martin kept up with this hopeless-but-earnest-and-eager routine, things were going to become very uncomfortable. Why, she wasn't sure, but she plastered a smile on her face like a bumper sticker. "Why would I need anything, everything's cool! Gotta go!" She turned and ran toward the doors, the smile fading as soon her face turned from Martin.

Many times Irma had fibbed to Martin to get him off her back, but she had never lied about her feelings. He honestly irritated her and he... honestly was crazy about her. What Irma had done just now smacked of wrongness for reasons she couldn't explain. It felt... unnatural.

Suddenly, Irma didn't feel so unstoppable anymore. And her cuts were itching even worse than before. She chalked it up to Martin's touch and focused on heading to Will's apartment, completely forgetting Mrs. Lin's offer of food.

Irma Lair skipping a meal was perhaps the most ominous sign of all.

* * *

In her relatively short life Belantha had smelled every odor that the human body could produce, whether during death or after the fact. She had lain in the excrement of every beast of burden in Meridian just to get the drop on several of her "jobs" and once hid in a vat of animal guts in a slaughterhouse to escape capture. There was precious little that could disturb her senses at this point. 

Still, traveling downwind of a Passling for hours on end was too much for anything with a working nose. "This portal better close by now, Cheek; I know a Beast with a taste for your kind..."

"It Jeek!" The old Passling replied as he hopped from tree to tree.. "Young lady no need worry, Jeek best nose of any Passling in world!"

Belantha's lip twitched. "Jeek best be, or only thing smelling Jeek will be doing will be rotting in this swamp."

Jeek looked down at Belantha with an amused expression. "Young lady speak Passling? Anyway, nearly to portal!" The Passling went on ahead as Belantha growled softly; it was difficult to threaten a creature of such low intelligence. Next time, she would just place her dagger against his throat to get the point across. Not that she wanted to kill her guide; Passlings smelled ten times worse dead than when they were breathing. Belantha figured that was why Cedric's "woman" preferred eating them alive.

She had started out immediately after Cedric had given her the assignment, a little miffed that her sordid activities had been canceled but also somewhat intrigued about this new mission. Having traveled from one corner of Meridian to the other, Bel was interested in seeing how well she could adapt to the strange, mythical world of Earth. And maybe find some action of both sorts, if she had the time.

_Yeeowch_! Growling, Belantha grabbed her breasts and tried to arrange them so that her new bra wouldn't tweak her skin so badly. If their undergarments were any indication, Bel figured Earth girls would be heavily into "those" kind of games. Something to look forward to, perhaps, but really annoying in the meantime.

The rest of her Earth garb was... odd. The "jeens" that were apparently so prevalent in the other dimension were more constrictive than her usual leather leggings, though she did like the way that highlighted her lower body. The pockets were too tight for weapons and seemed more suited for the for the paper strips and round coins used as currency while the "zippa" was mind-bogglingly complex yet incredibly simple to operate once one knew the trick. Damn if she knew how she'd take a bathroom break without taking the whole thing off, though; Cedric had mentioned something called "toylets" for such acts. Bel hoped the"toylets" were in a protected structure if she had to drop the jeens to her ankles. For some reason Cedric had neglected to provide her with Earthern underwear but, given her usual habits about such things, that wouldn't be a problem.

The "kapp" she wore on her head had an Earthern (English, she corrected herself) rune on it that reminded her of a snake sliding around two rocks. An orange fruit was placed behind it like it had a relation to the rune and Ric had told her it represented the educational facility the Guardians attended and thus was not an uncommon sight among the youth of Heatherfield, but all Belantha cared about was that the protusion attached to the front did an admirable job of covering her face.

Her torso was draped by a t-shirt that (again according to Cedric) said, "Boys Make Good Pets" and an grey pull-over garment similar to a pancho but with sleeves and another one of those marvelous zippas down the front. Considering how prevalent the zippas were, Earthers seemed to need to get dressed and undressed quite fast. The thought made Belantha grin widely and lasciviously.

As she entered a clearing she noticed Jeek hopping up and down on the roots of a large tree. Bel noted the blue glow that was cast out from underneath the root system as "Cheek" confirmed: "See, young lady! Portal under tree!"

If she wasn't constantly on the lookout for danger, Belantha would have rolled her eyes until only the whites were showing. "How observant of you. Well, anyway, I guess you did alright." She reached into the Timberland backpack and withdrew some odd female paraphernalia from Earth that Cedric had thoughtfully packed for her. When questioned about their proper use, the blank look on the Beast's face had made Belantha laugh until it hurt. "Here. Straight from the other side of the universe." She handed him a package that any Earthling would have recognized as Maxi Pads.

Jeek yanked the Pads out of her hands and gazed at them like they were the Holy Grail. "Ooooh... coasters for bug juice! Or maybe stick in armpits on hot days! Or on _really_ hot days..."

"Hey!" Belantha cut in, not liking where the Passling's brainstorming was going. "Why don't you go show your fr... the other Passlings your haul?"

Jeek chuckled. "Right, right! Blunk going to be so jealous of Jeek! Bye, young lady! Hope work together again real soon!" The Passling took off in the woods, Maxi Pads held high and proudly.

Belantha fanned the air in front of her face in a purely symbolic gesture; Passling stink clung to her like soot at this point. "Maybe if my nose gets cut off I will, ya smelly old..." She turned and faced the partially hidden portal. "Find the girl, observe the girl, kill the girl _if_ she turns 'dark'. Just another mission for that bastard Our Good Prince Phobos." Belantha ducked under the roots and saw the shimmering outline of the portal ahead. "And if I find something I can use to kill the Good Prince, well... a girl can hope."

She reached out to the the portal (only a few feet of which was visible as it bisected the tree) and started when the eldritch energies of Candracar's Veil leapt to her fingertips like sticky lightning. Cursing at how... _feminine_ the reaction seemed, she jabbed her hand through the portal and felt a cool breeze against the extra-dimensional appendage. "Hope the food's good," she said to herself as she lunged through the light.

* * *

"Relax, Hay Lin." 

"I am relaxed. Really. Why do you think I'm _not_ relaxed? I'm just keeping an eye out for... for stuff. Are you saying I'm drawing attention? 'Cause I'm not. I'm like a shadow, a gust of wind, that girl on _Crouching Tiger_. No one can see me, I'm in-de-tect-ta-ble."

Caleb sighed. With feeling. "...not when you're halfway up a light post you're not."

Hay Lin removed her hand from over her eyes and looked down at Caleb. "Oh... you have a point." She tried to shimmy down but froze when she realized how high she was. "Um... could you kinda give me a hand? And stop grinning! Meanie..."

Will chuckled as she watched Caleb extract a miffed Hay Lin from the street light she'd been using to scan the street. They were a few blocks from her apartment where they were to retrieve Will's... things for an extended stay in the Infinite City and they had lucked out by not running into anyone that knew their disabled leader, especially with her Astral Drop in tow.

For most of their walk the girls had taken up certain roles unconsciously; the somewhat detail-obsessed Taranee was laying out Will's entire life from school to home to the best of her abilities (which was pretty darn good and Will was busy taking notes with a pen and pad that Taranee had generously provided), Hay Lin was "lookout", using her keen eyes and Air-powered super-hearing to keep them away from crowds and Cornelia was... not really doing anything, to tell the truth, just slipping glances at Will and trying hard but failing to keep from looking like she was doing so.

"Will" was whistling a tune that was both hypnotic and grating, seemingly unconcerned with the current situation. The duplicate had slipped into Will's life "like a dagger into a sheath" (Caleb's analogy, naturally) and seemed neither eager nor apprehensive about returning to the Vandoms' residence. Usually Will would complain about her mother's unfair actions or moan that she would shortly be the victim of filicide on the way to her apartment, but "Will" was being surprisingly "Meh" about her cover. Maybe it was because the previous Astral Drops were so completely off the girls were anxious about her performance, but she seemed to be doing okay.

Not that she was a perfect copy by any means. For instance, she walked straighter than Will and seemingly added inches to her template's height; next to the original she looked like an entirely different person than the one bundled up like a leper. Other than the whistling (which everyone wanted her to stop but was unable to tell her to for some reason) "Will" said next to nothing and only nodded at Taranee's occasional need for affirmation on Will's tutoring.

As Taranee told the original about "the life and times of Will Vandom" it became apparent that Will's memory wasn't gone so much as it was muddled. Certain things stood out like Will's family (though they had learned to stay away from the topic of her father) and some facets of being a Guardian. School was less clear, but considering how the average teenager felt about that institution no one was too worried; Irma was similarly amnesiac about her assignments and she hadn't even lost _her _memory. "Between all of us we'll be able to cover your homework," Taranee told her, "so don't worry about it. I'll help your Drop out if she needs it."

Will nodded gratefully. "Thanks. Do I... do I make _good_ grades?"

Taranee smiled gently as she tactfully avoided the correct answer. "You do okay. You have some... _little _problems in Math, but I'm usually helping you, anyway. You like science and hate history, but what you really love is swimming."

"Swimming..." The taste of chlorine-scented water brushed across her lips. "Yeah... can we go sometime? To a pool or... or... whatever?" Something in her wanted to dive right in and float atop the water like a lily-pad. And maybe have a frog hop onto her stomach... wait, what? Where did that come from?

Taranee frowned. "Er, I don't think that would be a good idea until your memory is one-hundred percent. Sorry." Everyone except the Wills and Caleb was having similar visions of their friend drowning because she couldn't remember how to dog-paddle. Will picked up on this lack of faith and gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"Will" just kept whistling. On and on and on...

"You can swim in the Infinite City," Caleb suggested, his newly-acquired "Girls Are About to Start Fighting" instinct kicking in. "There's at least a dozen places I can think of with clean water we don't use for drinking." Will smiled at him gratefully while Taranee raised an eyebrow in his direction. Caleb just stared back and silently stated that he would not let Will drown; young girls and life-long freedom fighters quickly learned to convey entire paragraphs with expressions lest despotic princes or worse, parents, get wind of their plans.

Taranee sent a final facial telegraph that told Caleb that it was on _his_ head before saying, "I guess we're adding a swimsuit to the list. Maybe the exercise will help with your memory; I always think better when I'm dancing..."

"You dance?" Will asked. "I don't remember that, either."

"Hmmmm... actually, I don't think I ever told you that... but that isn't important right now. I mean, the last time I danced like that was with Elyooo..." Taranee trailed off conspicuously.

"Ely..." Will remembered a short girl with chalk-colored hair tied into two long pony-tails who loved to draw, who was nice to her despite the "New Girl" stigma that hung like a bad odor, who was angry at her friends for excluding her for no reason, who was throwing them all back with a wave of her hand... "...on." She came to a halt and the others stopped a second behind her and looked back with curious expressions.

"Your remember Elyon?" Hay Lin asked, innocently pushing an extremely touchy subject to the forefront like only she could..

Will's eyes were flicking back and forth under Hay Lin's sunglasses but she wasn't really looking at anything or anyone. Elyon was like a hyperlink that opened up entire pages of her recent life, starting from her first day at school to... to... oh, god. _Oh_, _god. _"I... I do..."

They were all looking at her now with intense expressions, hope that she was again the Will they knew and worry that she was going to flip out again mixing together so potently one could have smelled it. Hay Lin reached out and touched her shoulder. "Will..."

Will blinked unseen behind her shades. "Ah..."

"Did you remember something?" Taranne asked.

"Ah... y-no. No. It was _there_, but... sorry."

The others deflated visibly in their mixed disappointment/relief. "You just need time," Caleb assured her. "Time fixes all things, one way or another. My father always said that when I was younger."

One hand still on Will's shoulder, Hay Lin reached up and patted his head. "I can't imagine big ole Caleb ever being little!" The girls, sans the ever-whistling "Will", giggled at his frown. "I wish they had cameras in Meridian, I'd love to see baby pictures of our favorite rebel leader!" Caleb grimaced at the indignity of the suggestion. "I can just see him running around with a toy sword saying, 'I'll get you, Phobos, you stinky old bad guy!'"

Will turned her head to look curiously at Hay Lin. "Phobos? The pretty guy with the creepy eyes?"

Hay Lin blinked herself. "Wow, never heard him described like that before, but yeah, that's him. What do you remember about him?"

"Well, not much, except he's the reason everything's so bad in Meridian." Caleb smiled grimly at Will's summation. "He sits on his throne a lot and tells the snake-Cedric-what to do." Will recited this like something out of a history assignment in Professor Collins' class, only better. Taranee found it odd that while Will was scared of memories of her parent's fighting, Phobos barely registered in her mind as a threat. "And he's a jerk."

Caleb laughed loudly, causing Will to look at him uneasily. "I'm not laughing at you, Will," he explained, "it was just the way you said it. We've run out of names for His Majesty at this point, but you nailed him with one word."

Will smiled in relief. "Thanks. He's the ultimate jerk, right?"

"The Jerkiest of Them All!" Caleb said lamely, still causing Will to laugh and the others to wonder where this side of Caleb had been at the few months they had known him. Maybe it was because he had discovered his father was alive after all, or maybe it was Will's current condition, but they were now seeing a kinder, nurturing side to the rebel leader.

It was, in all honesty, freaking them out a little bit.

* * *

The exception to the _Rule_ may only prove that the _Rule_ is, well, the _Rule_, but just by _being_ the exception proves that the _Rule _can be circumvented. For example, Blunk; the Passling first encountered by Will in Phobos' dungeons and now the Guardians' companion in war and daily life. Blunk is the the exception to the _Rule _that Passlings are good for little except peeling paint with their B.O. and stealing your junk. Which is also true of Blunk to be fair, but there's more to the smelly hominid than meets the eye. And nose. 

Blunk's exploits with the Guardians weren't just heroically out-of-character for Blunk, they were _epically_ out-of-character for someone of his race. If you were a two-foot tall creature in a world where even plants eat their allotted share of meat, you'd evolve two basic defenses: the ability to run very fast on short legs and an overpowering body odor not unlike a skunk with gland failure. For Passlings, the always popular "fight or flight" response lacked the "fight" and consisted solely of the "flight."

Passlings were actually very loyal to those that kept them _out_ of danger, but for Blunk to routinely put himself at risk for people who chased trouble down (and then made it _angrier_) led many of his fellow Passlings to question his sanity, despite the great business opportunities and tasty food that came with being the Guardians' official "Retailer." Blunk would have his own titles among his people in the days to come ranging from "Great Passling Hero" (almost a double oxymoron in itself) to "Not Bright Dummy," depending on who you asked. Or sometimes not.

In the halls of the Meridian libraries hundreds of years from now scholars will read the autobiography of the Passling that helped defeat Phobos (as translated by Hay Lin from Blunk's own peculiar speech, complete with little hearts on the i's.) They will marvel at the single most unbelievable tale about the Greatest Guardians That Ever Lived (which was not the official title for the W.I.T.C.H. generation but it was generally accepted as accurate considering the severity of the threats they dealt with and was only rivaled by their successors, D.J.I.N.N.), because even a world of magic had limits and iron-clad rules.

One of those being that Passlings are not the heroic type. Saying that a Passling was courageous was to Meridianites what magic was to Earthlings: insistence at its existence will guarantee the response "doesn't exist," and a "get your head examined" as well.

So, saying that Blunk was one of the bravest Passlings in history was akin to claiming that Phobos had great plans for his younger sister; it was accurate enough answer to pass a true/false quiz, but was somewhat sugar-coated in the details. Blunk was still a cowardly fence (re-seller!), true, but his one redeeming feature was his inclination for unthinking fits of courage, emphasis on "unthinking."

Besides _chutzpah_, Passlings also weren't known for their intricate strategies or philosophical musings; "Eat. Sleep. Dig thru trash. Stink up the place," would have been the prevalent schedule in Blunk's day planner had he not used it for a "hat to keep sun out of eyes/bug saver for snack time!"

Partway through "The Great Blunk!" most will shake their heads in disbelief at the account of the titular hero biting the tail of Lord Cedric, one-half of the Most Evil Bastards to Ever Live (again, not the official title but generally accepted with Nerissa occupying the more feminine version of MEBEL) which was a few chapters before the account of this same hero throwing up on Cornelia's prom dress after eating a scented candle... while she was wearing it.

Had the account not been written by a former Guardian it would have been dismissed outright; as it was, the transforming of Blunk from a cowardly smuggler (freelance merchant!) to a hero and trusted friend of the G.G.T.E.L. was presented as proof that they were deserving of the long title lain upon them. It's not easy for a Passling to make non-Passling friends, let alone be named an (honorary) godparent seven times.

This was chalked up to the generosity of the Guardians more than Blunk's "charm"; of course, none of the scholars had heard Cornelia scream when Blunk upchucked on her. If Elyon hadn't been there to magically clean the dress, Cornelia would have flat-out murdered Blunk. Really, she would have.

Not that Blunk didn't get recognition for his own contributions. Chapter 13: The Tale of the Stolen Heart, for instance; without him his cousin Jeek would have turned the Heart of Candracar over to Phobos. Passlings were just barely brave enough to attack each other, and Blunk was still half the size of Jeek. The ensuing struggle was perhaps the most epic feat in the entire book, thanks partly to the excitable imagination of Hay Lin and too much soda for the subject and author. This entry was also credited with introducing the phrase "Full Nelson" into the Meridian lexicon as well as adding a new meaning to the word "clothesline".

And there was no doubt in any of the scholar's minds that the Guardians of the three generations Blunk had known were (oddly) fond of the Passling. After all, it was Blunk that gave Will away at her second wedding ceremony that was held in Meridian. Granted, he fell in the cake when she tried to cut it, but the photo of Will covered in frosting and laughing at the Passling as he spat out the groom figurine was a favorite of Visitors to the Elyon Brown Magically Preserved Photo Albums Wing of the palace. The figurine was on display as well, between a pair of Taranee's glasses and a painting of Elyon by Hay Lin and always caused an "Ewww" from commoners and nobles alike despite not being in a Passling's mouth for decades.

W.I.T.C.H., however, would be cited in some records as saying that D.J.I.N.N. was more worthy of the title G.G.T.E.L. since it was they that accomplished what was thought impossible with Blunk: getting him to take regular bathes. With soap. And _conditioner_ (for the hair on his hands and feet.) It should be noted that the baths were done with swamp water, but this subtracted little from the actual feat.

Quoth one Irma Lair, a.k.a. the Water Guardian of the W.I.T.C.H. generation, a.k.a the "I": "I'm serious, we should build statues of those girls. For years I've never actually breathed around the barf monkey and now he smells like tangerines. Spoiled ones, maybe, but still..." Everything's relative, apparently. (Taranee Cook, a.k.a. the "T," thought Blunk smelled like oranges. Spoiled oranges, anyway.)

(On a side-note, the very idea of a bathing Passling will be even more hotly debated than a heroic one. In fact, the name "Blunk" will become analogous to the "fish tale" on Earth; ex. "You got a date with one of the Guardians? What are you, Blunk?" and so on. On _another_ side-note, Blunk never actually dated any of the Guardians. Officially. Guardian Lair maintained that the time she danced with Blunk during her senior prom did not count as a "date." She also said the same thing about her future husband, coincidentally.)

But the future doesn't exist yet and at this particular moment in time the "Great Passling Hero" was trying to figure out a way into Will's room. Invading the girls' personal space wasn't unusual for Blunk, but his reasons for this particular incursion were different than the usual motive of looking under the bed for knick-knacks.

Blunk was concerned. And more than a little hurt. Will had been especially mean to Blunk earlier, _really _mean. By now he knew when the Guardians and Caleb were just saying things and when they were really angry; Will was really angry today and for the life of him the Passling had no idea why. Usually when the Guardians started yelling they gave reasons for yelling, good solid reasons that let Blunk know what not to do again, or at least when to make himself scarce when he _did_ do it again.

But Will just yelled at him for no good reason, unless Blunk being there counted as a good reason, which to Blunk didn't seem like a good reason at all, not at all. Crouched next to the dumpster outside the _Silver Dragon _(his favorite thinking spot), Blunk had gone over various possibilities for Will's mean-ness.

Grouchy? Naw, even grouchy was too light a phrase for what Will had been like. _Maybe not Will's fault_, he mused, _but_ _something humans have make them big-time-grouchy_. With Blunk's keen nose he could detect when human women went into Baby-Making Time and knew from Mama's advice that was not always a good time to talk to them. But Will wasn't suffering from any Post-Menstrual Syndrome that Blunk could detect; in fact, her scent was the same as usual. Almost the same, actually, but not too different. Maybe a new perfume? _Blecch_!

Having ruled out some trick of human biology, Blunk decided to investigate. In flights of fancy the Passling saw himself as something of a sleuth (he _was_ quick-witted for a Passling and arguably for some humans as well) so he decided to take a pro-active stance in mending the unexplainable rift with the girls. Hence, the trespassing in Will's room.

A drainage pipe provided the way to Will's window and Will's forgetfulness proved an unlocked window that Blunk was able to force open with several canceled credit cards (that he didn't use correctly, of course, and how he did use them was too vile to describe). Entry was swift, especially since Blunk slipped on his Visa Mastercard and slammed face-first into Will's floor, and the Passling wasted no time beginning his investigation. His primary instrument: the good old reliable Passling schnoz.

Sniffing at anything that looked promising (which to a Passling was everything in sight that wasn't bolted down) Blunk quickly gather a wealth of information that had yet to clue him into the cause of Will's tirade.

He was just about to start pulling drawers out when the sound of light footsteps sounded through the Vandoms' apartment. Blunk's small ears twitched in fright as he searched for a hiding place; just as the footsteps reached the door Blunk pulled open one of Will's drawers and hopped in, pushing it closed by bracing against the dresser frame and stretching his legs against the back of the drawer until it was fully shut.

Having heard Blunk falling from all the way across the apartment, Susan opened the door to her daughter's bed room and immediately detected the rotten scent of boiled pus. Or... something. Gagging, she noticed the window was open and wondered if a pigeon had flown in and died.

Holding her nose she searched the room thoroughly, checking under the bed and any other place something could have crawled into and expired. The smell was strongest around Will's dresser and when she couldn't find anything underneath or behind it she started to go through the drawers.

The top ones only contained clothes, so Susan began to work her way down to Blunk's drawer. One after another she came closer to the inevitable discovery. Blunk whimpered as she grasped the handle to his hiding spot and started to pull.

_SLAM_!

A startled Susan looked up in surprise at the sound of the door to the apartment crashing closed. She took her hand off the drawer and left Will's room. Within his drawer Blunk let out a sigh of relief that would have wilted flowers.

Blunk was safe. Well, as safe as a Passling could ever be.

* * *

Just before Susan began to search Will's room the Guardians and Caleb arrived at the door to the apartment. "Will" was reaching in her pocket for the key when Taranee asked, "Is Will's mom here? Disguise or not, there's no way she won't notice." 

"Will" shrugged. "Don't know. She was supposed to be getting groceries this afternoon, but... let me check." The Drop opened the door and looked around the apartment. "Don't see her." The group slowly entered the living room like it was one of Phobos' fortresses.

Caleb, still learning about the strange humans that inhabited Earth, had grasped one important concept about the females of this dimension. "Her purse is here," he observed, pointing to the handbag.

"So?" Cornelia asked irritably.

Surprised at the fierceness of her tone, Caleb glanced at her warily as he stated with the assuredness of a professor in Earth Chicks 101, "So... Earth women always have their purses with them. They're like... pouches, or something."

There was a moment of silence as the teens realized what this meant. Taranee then began pushing Will toward the door. "Stay out there!"

"But I..." The door slammed on her protest, the noise startling Susan out of her search for Blunk. When she entered the living room she found her "daughter" and her friends smiling innocently and looking anything but.

"Hey, Mom!" "Will" said cheerfully, then she frowned darkly when she caught the scent of Passling on Susan. The expression passed quickly enough that none of the others caught its significance. "Sorry about the door. Caleb's just so strong, y'know? Whew! Did the toilet overflow or something?"

Susan shook her head. "No, but there's something in your room that smells god-awful. It wasn't there this morning..."

"I'll check it out. Oh, I'm lending Taranee some things so maybe she can help me look." Taranee was visibly surprised (and secretly impressed) at how fast "Will" had created an excuse for the Guardians to take Will's clothes out of the apartment. To Susan it looked like she was (understandably) reluctant to enter Will's smelly room. "Come on, Taranee, it's not that bad." The two girls went into Will's room. "Whoa! Okay, so it is."

There was a moment of silence as Susan and the other kids stared at each other. "So, how did your project go?" she asked the other kids.

"Great!" Hay Lin replied, reckoning quickly that if the project didn't really exist at all there was no way it could go wrong so it technically wasn't lying, right? Right! "Uhhhhhmmm... how did yours go? Yesterday, I mean?"

"Well enough." Susan looked at Will's door. "Hmmm... guys, is everything okay with Will? She seems... different."

Caleb and Cornelia's faces were a complete blank while Hay Lin said, "She seems okay to us, ma'am. It may just be this weather we're having lately; Grandma says that too much rain messes with the chi, something like Seasonal Affective Disorder."

Susan considered this. "I suppose that could be it... maybe it's just my imagination. So... what's on the agenda for this afternoon?"

If Hay Lin had tried to lie, it would have been painfully obvious. "Well, we're going to the woods for a bit to relax." It was true, because as soon as Will was out of this dimension, they'd all be able to breathe easier. "Caleb's going to show us some survival stuff his dad taught him, I think it's going to fun!"

Susan looked at Caleb and tried not to sound too curious as she asked, "I haven't met your parents yet, have I? What is it they do?"

"My father..." Caleb began. "My father is in the military and my mother... died when I was young."

"Oh... I'm sorry."

"Caleb's dad moves around a lot," Hay Lin added, "So he's staying with us for a while."

Susan thought this explained a little bit about the mysterious boy; the pain in his eyes could be from losing a parent and not having the other one present at this difficult stage in his life. It actually made a bitter sense now that Will was friends with Caleb since her daughter knew all about what it meant to have an absentee father; Susan had wondered what they could possibly have in common and yet it was apparently that simple. "That's very nice of Mrs Lin."

"I earn my keep," Caleb added quickly to dispel any claims of charity; the boy had pride in abundance, it seemed. Susan could respect that.

"Of course, I'm sure you do. Every time I go to the restaurant I see you waiting tables or cleaning up." Caleb's bearing relaxed a little and Susan mentally shook her head at the surprising work ethic; she wished Will had a little more of that same trait. Honestly, what took up all her time she could be using for homework? Somehow she doubted her friends would tell her anything; they were extremely loyal, at least she could be thankful for that. "Well, they're certainly taking their time... does anybody want something to drink?"

"Yes, please!" Hay Lin said cheerfully. Caleb shrugged his assent and Cornelia just stared at her feet. As Susan led them into the kitchen, she reminded herself that they weren't her children and didn't fall under her supposed maternal instincts, but something was... _different_

It was probably nothing. Just the weather messing with her Seasonal Affective Disorder or her chi, maybe.

* * *

Inside Will's room, Taranee made a gagging face. "Looks like Blunk was here." 

"Yeah," "Will" said curtly. "I didn't notice Will left her window unlocked... that was careless of her."

Taranee looked a little surprised at that statement, but part of her silently agreed with "Will", since by Taranee's standards most people were too cavalier about such things. "Yeah, maybe... man, that's strong! Might be he's still here... Blunk? It's Taranee." Blunk popped out of his drawer and smiled widely at Taranee; a few months ago the sight would have terrified the girl, but now the brainiac just rolled her eyes at the small smuggler. "What are doing here, Blunk? Will's mom is in the apartment right now..."

At the mention of "her" name Blunk looked over at "Will" and his smile metamorphosed into an expression of pure terror. Hopping out of the drawer like greased lightning, the Passling shot out the window and scurried down the drain pipe. Taranee ran to the window and glanced downward in time to see Blunk dart into an alley across the street; she turned and looked questioningly at "Will". "What on earth was that about?"

"Will" shrugged. "Got me. Let's just get Will's things for her; something practical for staying in the Infinite City, I think." "Will" opened the closet and _tsk_ed. "I may be her Astral Drop, but I have no clue as to her frog fixation is about. And she doesn't have anything that could be used for traveling through caves, just jeans and t-shirts. She really needs to get a hobby besides swimming."

Though she felt horrible about it, Taranee admitted to herself that she thought Will could learn a thing or two from her Astral Drop. With "Will"'s back turned toward her, she missed the mocking smile the Drop wore_.  
_

* * *

_Must... stop... eating dessert_! Irma swore as she skidded to a stop in the lobby of Will's building. On automatic she made her way into an elevator and pressed the button for Will's floor more from her memory than actually looking at what she was doing. Slumping against the wall of the lift she fought to catch her breath and tried not to think about Martin Tubbs. 

Irma had hoped that she would have time to sort through her Will issue before the real world hit her in the face on Monday. She had especially hoped to not have Martin ambush her like he did, however unintentionally. It was a little ridiculous that she was so worried about hurting the geek's feelings, but the fact remained that Irma was about the only person who _could_ harm Martin's emotions. He was a tough wimp, that was for certain, able to take the abuse heaped on him by Uriah Dunn and others with a resilience that at times impressed Irma.

Even the object of his affections had a hard time damaging Martin's emotional state, no matter how much she raged against him. Of course, there were other ways to hurt beside angry words; how many times had she gushed about cute guys like VMJ and Hornby in front of him without thinking?If a guy did that to Irma, she'd punch him in the face, but Martin just took it. The fact that her Will crush was making her more conscientious of Martin's feelings was adding to the surreality of the whole thing. Worse, Irma was getting used to the surreality... sort of.

When the doors opened it was like Irma was dumped out of her mind into and the hallway. Staggering on sore legs (_run some more, cut out the desserts and _run, _tubby_! she added harshly) Irma sighed as she walked towards Will's apartment. She was staring at the carpeting in the hallway when she bumped into a person standing outside the door and nearly fell on her. Irma's head jerked up as Will whirled around so fast her shades fell off.

The two girls stared at each other in shock, then both stammered out, "I'm sorry!"

Irma shook her head as she held her hands up. "No, no, it's not you! I wasn't looking... what are you doing out here, anyway? Where are the others?"

Will's face was flushed red with embarrassment, something that distracted Irma to no end. "My... my mom's in there, so... I can't be." The color began to drain away from her face. "I mean, that makes sense."

Irma swallowed, hormones and honest concern bumping into each other. "Look, this is just temporary, okay? Drops aren't permanent, but you are, right?" Will was slow to respond. "You are, _okay_?"

Will shrugged. "I guess..." She looked down at her shades and bent to retrieve them just as Irma had the same idea. The two Guardians cracked foreheads and yelped, "Ouch!" "I'm sorry, Irma, I... Irma?"

Irma was chuckling, then started into convulsions of laughter. Will just stared at her until the episode passed. "Ha ha hee... oh, man, you should have seen your face! It was... just so funny!" Will smiled shakily. "Sorry, it was just stress... does your head hurt?"

"Uh, a little, but it's fading."

"Good. No one's as hard-headed as me, so I was worried." Will smiled wider. "So... anything come to you on the walk over here?"

Will didn't exactly freeze, but her eyes began to drift away from Irma's. "No, not really... flashes of stuff because Taranee was telling me about..." _My life_. "Stuff."

Irma knew she was lying through her teeth; Will could never fool her.. "Oh, well, that's okay." She looked at the door. "How long have they been in there?"

"About ten-fifteen minutes. You... you want to go in?"

Irma didn't realize that human eyes could get that big, but Will's were practically anime-sized, like she was holding up a sign that read DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THEY DID. "Naw... naw, I'll wait out here."

Will really smiled this time. "Oh, okay." They leaned against the wall and tried to look like it was perfectly natural for teenage girls to hang out in hallways with bags of canned goods and blankets; all the cool kids were doing it, yep. "Uh, Irma?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"Er... what do you like best about me?"

On several occasions, Irma had been on the receiving end of Cedric's sewer-pipe-sized tail. This question knocked her for a loop even more than that. "Uhhhhherrrrrrrraahhhhh..."

"Never mind, it was a stupid question," Will said quickly, slipping her shades over her eyes.

"No! No, it's not." Irma pushed away from the wall. "I do like you..." _Breathe, breathe_..."You're my friend. A good friend, a good leader and..." Will wasn't looking convinced. "Okay, what I like best about you is... you never think you're better than anyone else. You never try to act like you're always right, you just do your best."

"Really? That sounds like I mess up sometimes."

Irma shook her head fiercely. "We all mess up sometimes and it's not like we took a course or something before we became Guardians, we just got thrown into it, y'know? Why do you think that, anyway? Did someone say something?" Irma could easily picture Cornelia taking advantage of Will's state to throw some verbal jabs in.

"No... no one said anything, but... I must have done something wrong to be like this, be all messed up."

Irma bopped her gently on the head. "What you did to get like this was save Caleb's life. Not only are we going to hold that against him for the rest of his days, that seems like a pretty damn good reason to be a little off-kilter." Will chuckled. "What?"

"You said... you know."

Irma grinned. "Oh, are you going to report me?" Will shook her head. "Good... 'cause I'm too pretty to go to jail."

"You are. Pretty, I mean." Will flushed a little at this.

"Really?" Irma swallowed and tried not to let the comment go to her head. "T-thanks. We're a bunch of hotties, aren't we? Even that scruffy Caleb."

Now Will_ really_ flushed. "Y-yeah, I guess..."

* * *

"We need to be going," Taranee said to Susan as she left Will's room. "Before it gets dark. Goodbye, Mrs. Vandom." 

"Goodbye, kids. Be careful out there." The teens left the apartment; Susan smiled and waved goodbyeat Cornelia as she closed the door. For a split-second the usually upbeat girl locked haunted eyes with Will's mother before looking away sharply. Susan was still blinking in surprise at the odd reaction as the door snapped shut, sealing her in the apartment like an airlock to the outside world.

_What was it with kids today_? Susan thought. It was like they walked around with the world hanging on their shoulders.

* * *

In the room of her template, "Will" sat on "her" bed and let herself fall back against the sheets. She couldn't wait for dinner. She had to start somewhere, after all, and she couldn't ask for a better jumping-off point than the mother. 

After all, parents were rarely satisfied with their children, no matter how much they claimed to love them. Well, Susan was in luck. Soon, she was going to have the perfect daughter: _Me_.

* * *

Author's Note/Yet Another Wierd Coincidence: _**SPOILER WARNING FOR THE COMICS!**_ Issue 50 of W.I.T.C.H. is now officially my favorite one of all time. Remember in Chapter Two how I wrote that the elements actually cared about the girls? The Oracle says that the elements themselves chose the Guardians and the Ludmoore story arc that begins after the fiftieth issue is all about conscious elements. Tell the truth, I just thought my take sounded pretty poetic. I mean, fire thinks? What would say? **IS IT HOT IN HERE, OR IS JUST ME? **Ouch; that was so bad it hurt to type it. Another neat thing about Issue 50: it's mentioned that in a possible future that Will may become a fantasy author a la Tamora Pierce. Could she get any cooler? Yes, Will fanboy, deal with it. 

Jeek the Passling was Phobos' inside... man in the underwater mines and all-around butt-munch when it comes to spying and doing bad things only a Passling can do, so it's not a stretch that he would be at Belantha's disposal as another one of Double-P's (copyright that!) minions. Of course, she still had to pay him because Phobos is just that cheap a bastard.

The Blunk section has been sitting around my hard drive for a while now and I was happy to finally publish it in just the right chapter, especially with the D.J.I.N.N. references. Yes, Blunk will bathe eventually in the my next-gen fic. Why? D.J.I.N.N. readers can probably guess, but for those who haven't read it yet why don't you hit my screen name with the arrow the mouse moves and check it out?

The drainage pipe Blunk used was the same that Cedric used in the previous short. Clever continuity, or laziness on the part of this author? You decide!

I'd like to remind everyone that I'm still committed to finishing this story even with D.J.I.N.N. and Never Too Young on my plate. I've decided to shorten it a little, but I never really had a set number of chapters in the first place. At seven to ten thousand words a chapter, I'd guess fifteen to twenty chaps total. And with Season Two over and done with, I can incorporate some of it into DGW, actually making it a better story overall. Might just want to put a story alert on it since I can't promise fast updates. But to make up for it... here's another quickie story for a laugh.

And now... presented by Koolkame's Short Theater... and sponsored by the _Silver Dragon_ (Our home is your home, just don't go down in the basement!)...

* * *

Dreaming... or Not?

* * *

Susan had never thought she could fall in love so completely after her first marriage; she was just too cynical after the disappointment and tears. She resolved that Will's love was all she'd ever needed and resigned himself to a life of loneliness once her daughter left the nest. 

But then _he _was there. The fact they had met through her daughter was a good sign, Susan thought, since they both cared about her well-being and he was obviously so fond of her as well as Will's friends. From this they began to build a relationship that had eventually led to marriage and Susan felt like a kid again at their prospects for the future. They were even talking about having more children, once the time was right.

Susan smiled over at her husband as he read the _Heatherfield Gazette_, small glasses hanging at the end of his nose until he pushed them up again. She couldn't help but giggle, she was still so giddy; he looked up to see what was amusing her and grinned back when he realized what she was laughing at.

The door to the apartment opened and closed loudly to signal Will's arrival. "Hey, mom," her tow-headed daughter said as she dropped her backpack. "I can only stay a little while, I'm heading over to Corneli-_whoa_!"

Susan looked up in alarm. "Is something wrong, sweetie?"

Will was staring at her step-father in shock. No, shock wasn't a strong enough word to describe the disbelief on her face. "What... what's _he _doing here, what are _you _doing here?"

"Will, I thought you had adjusted already," Susan said warily. "I understand this is a big change..."

Will ignored her and asked her mother's husband, "Why aren't you in Meridian?" Her step-father looked at Susan blankly.

Susan swallowed. "Will, if you were having second thoughts you should have said something before the wedding..."

"The wha-wha... wedding?" She then noticed the small golden band on her stepfather's hand. "Oh... oh, man..."

Susan sighed. "Can you talk to her, dear? She's not listening to me."

The love of her life nodded and removed his reading glasses. He looked sincerely at Will and said in his most heartfelt tone, "Will not worry, Will's New Daddy be good man of the house from now on! Sell lots of Earth treasures to put Will through college! Be good grandpa when Will and Will's Boy make babies, too! Like Will's Mom and Will's New Daddy do _later_..."

Susan smiled lovingly at him while Will screamed in horror.

* * *

Will shot up in bed before she was fully awake, disorienting herself as she awoke from the nightmare. _Oh, man! Blunk and my mother... god, I may never sleep again! At least it was only a dream..._

Will fell back on the bed and let out a sigh of relief. She froze when something stirred next to her, but relaxed when she remembered she was at a slumber party at Cornelia's penthouse. "Will?" a voice said next to her ear. "You okay?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm good. Just a really bad dream..."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No... no, I'm good. Thanks. Sorry I woke you, Cornelia."

"...Cornelia? Who's that? Will, you know who I am."

Will frowned and slowly turned her head. There, propped up on her elbow and looking at Will like she was tripping on something, was Nerissa in her "Stacey" Glamour. Will blinked to make sure she wasn't seeing things, then made an inquisitive noise, something along the lines of "Whuh?"

Nerissa looked concerned(?) as she sat up. "Okay, something's definitely weird with you. Guys? Get up, Will's freaking out or something."

To Will's growing horror, Phobos' head appeared at the foot of the bed, complete with large hair-curlers in his long white hair and a small one in his soul patch. "What's all this then? What's freaking Will out? _Yawwwnn_... I have a date with Cedric tomorrow, I need my beauty sleep."

"Murrrrrraghhh!" Will's eyes darted over to the left as the Tracker put on his hat, careful not to smudge the exfoliating cream on his wrinkled face or dislodge the cucumbers over his eyes.

Phobos glared at him. "Well, fine, be a jealous little bitch! The nerve of commenting on the bags under my eyes..." Will felt like screaming again.

"What's wrong, Will?" Taranee asked from her right as she sat up on her sleeping pallet.

Will nearly sobbed in relief. "Taranee, thank god! We have to get out of here..."

"Taranee? Me not Taranee!" Taranee grabbed her ears and ripped her face off like it was mask, revealing Blunk underneath as he smiled cheerfully at Will. "Me Will's New Daddy! Give Daddy hug?"

Will whimpered in fright, only to find herself being comforted by Nerissa. "Hey, it was my idea to invite him, dear heart. I thought you'd be okay with it."

"Everything's fine, Will," Phobos said as his head-sans any body attached to it-floated over the bed and smiled reassuringly at her.

Feeling justified, Will went ahead and screamed again.

* * *

"Will! Will, wake up!" Cornelia said as she shook her friend's shoulders. "You're having a nightmare!" 

Will awoke with a start, then realized she was really in Cornelia's bedroom this time. She looked up at Cornelia hopefully. "Are you real?"

Cornelia arched an eyebrow. "If you mean have I had any plastic surgery done, that would be a 'no'. Honestly, I told you not to eat that sweet and sour chicken before we went to bed."

Will stared at Cornelia, then distantly noted. "Your hair is sticking up." Sure enough, Cornelia's long blonde hairs were floating around her head like she'd been hit with a massive charge of static electricity. "Oops... did I do that?"

"Pretty much," Irma said from the floor. "I think I'm stuck to my sleeping bag."

Hay Lin giggled somewhere in the the darkness. "It tickles a little... yeow! And shocks! A little..."

A small flame appeared next to Will. "Do you need some water, Will?" Taranee asked, the spark held in the palm of her hand; the Fire Guardian was surprised when Will grabbed her by the nose and started pulling. "Wull? Wha ar ooo tying to tak off ma phace?"

* * *

A false awakening is when you dream that you've woken up. I get them a lot, so maybe that was my inspiration for this fic along with the question, What is the Unlikeliest Pairing in W.I.T.C.H.? That's also the reason I classified this as a horror/comedy. Scary... Was going to publish as a stand-alone, but I needed a peace offering to keep from being eaten alive by you guys (and rightfully so) for keeping you waiting. 

Here's something else that's scary: Once you go _Passling_, that's all you'll be _sampling_! Excuse me while I go burn in Writer's Hell.


	7. Through Forests of Night And Light

Disclaimer: W.I.T.C.H. and its trademarks in this story are the property of Disney while original characters, settings and giant spooky Shards are my own invention. Coming soon to a store near you: koolkame's Spooky Shards! Bring out your inner badassness! Amaze/terrify your friends! Warning: Do not mix with prescribed medication, pacemakers, or Astral Drops. May cause Amnesia, Obscenely Long Fanfictions and dry mouth.

Author's Note: This chapter was reloaded to fix some mash-ups caused by the file transfer. Nothing lost or added, no worries.

Chi Yagami has suggested that I do a recap for the story so far since I kinda take a while to update... alright, so I take _forever_ to update. But it's a good idea and from now on the summary will be replaced by a Last Chapter section. Chi is also the winner of the Create-A-Rebel contest and her really cool character will premiere this chapter; congratulations, Chi!

First things first, let's recap the story so far.

After a disastrous mission Will is left unconscious and is taken back to the _Silver Dragon_. Exhausted, the other Guardians stay the night at the restaurant only to be pulled from their dreams into a black expanse Irma dubs the "Closet." From there they enter a grey wasteland with a pink sky, which is actually a pocket dimension inside the Heart of Candracar. They find the disturbing sight of Will trying to strangle herself before a tower of grey sand surrounds her.

Using the bond between them the Guardians break through the tower to retrieve Will, only to attacked by a shadowy woman-like creature that seemed intent on regaining Will for unknown reasons. The other Guardians fought to protect an untransformed (and unusually heavy) Will, and exhausted themselves while Cornelia tried to get the Keeper to a distant portal. Despite their efforts the Infection made it to Cornelia and Will; in a critical moment, Cornelia made the decision not to put himself between Will and the creature.

The other Guardians wrested Will from the Infection's grasp and devised a clever plan to get Will to the portal. They made it seconds before the Infection and the dark being was destroyed by the Heart. But its mission was already complete...

The girls returned to the living to find that Caleb had been choked viciously by Will after her conciousness was taken out of her Heart. Another shocking discovery was that Irma's injury-five slashes on her arm caused by the Infection-carried over into the real world.

After Will falls unconscious again the girls tell Yan Lin what happened and the elder Guardian explained that the girls were summoned to fight the Infection. Afterwards they all return to bed until morning, where some amusing events take their minds off the trauma of last night. Caleb promises an unhearing Will that he'll make it up to her and comments on how alike they are; afterwards a surprisingly vehement Taranee reminds him that the girls' have normal lives to deal with. The girls make an Astral Drop of Will that seems to perform better than the past ones, albeit with a few quirks. 

Susan Vandom arrives to pick up the Astral Drop while Hay Lin has unexplainable bad feelings at their meeting, bad enough to cause her to vomit up her breakfast. The girls depart, Irma and Taranee discussing why they were chosen as Guardians on their way home. Alone at her house Irma muses on her first meeting with Will and her secret promise to protect her new friend; while apologizing to Will, she is shocked when the hypothetical situation ends with the two friends kissing.

Affected by her rage inside the Heart, Taranee asks her brother if she has a temper only to be assured that anger is normal and that she is in control of herself, though she still has doubts. Irma begins an introspective journey to figure out her attraction to Will only to break down in tears at the thought of her friends leaving her at this revelation.

The next morning Irma is awakened by Hay Lin and brought to the restaurant; her talking to Will causes her to regain conciousness but the Keeper can only remember the others' names and little else. The girls try to transform to help Will's memory, but the Heart does not work for some reason. Will's Astral Drop arrives and tries to break through Will's amnesia with her own memories, only to upset her when inquiring about her father. Meanwhile, Cedric reports on the events in Inimini's laboratory to Phobos, who decides to send for an assassin named Belantha.

When Will is dressed and fed a discussion about the Shard begins that leads into Caleb's plan to hide Will in the Infinite City. After Will and Hay Lin leave Caleb gets into a verbal battle with Irma and Cornelia about his lack of respect for them that ends with the rebel unexpectedly stating his affection for the girls.

Afterwards the girls dress Will incognito and gather supplies for her stay. Down in the basement Blunk runs into "Will" and is brutally chastised and kicked by the unusual Astral Drop. Irma has her wounds dressed by Yan Lin and inquires fruitlessly about the woman's past; later she runs in Martin Tubbs and-still working out her new feelings for Will-is thrown by his appearance and concern.

In the swamps of Torus GlaisCedric makes contact with Belantha, the assassin who is under an unwilling blood-oath to Phobos and outlines her mission: observe Will and kill her if she shows signs of becoming dangerous to the Prince. Back on Earth Martin notices that Irma is distracted and accidentally hurts her when he touches her cuts; Irma shrugs this off and quickly leaves for Will's apartment. 

Belantha pays Jeek to find a portal for her (which also happens to be the portal that W.I.T.C.H. plans on using) and enters it. Will and the others are walking to her apartment as she remembers various things, including her love of swimming and frogs as well as secretly upsetting thoughts about Elyon. Before they arrive Blunk invades Will's room to discover the cause of "Will's" harsh treatment of him and is nearly caught by Susan Vandom.

Upon her arrival Will is shoved out of her own apartment and waits in the hallway with Irma until the others leave. Susan talks with her daughter's friends and notices that something is off about their behavior, particularly Cornelia. Alone again, "Will" plans to "start" with Susan first on the basis that parents are rarely satisfied with their children.

* * *

If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there. - Lewis Carroll

* * *

Chapter Seven: Through Forests of Night and Light

_Progress is... slow, but within acceptable standards. The internal matrices_ _of the crystal are forming as expected, seemingly well-suited to their function. So much new ground is being broken I haven't even thought up a name for them yet. They are almost like prisms in that they break down wave/particles like the aforementioned objects divert light, only they instead tear down reality itself so it can be studied, analyzed... _understood_._

_I have had amazingsuccess with_ _invertebrates and flora, but the thought of expanding to vertebrates and-dare I even think it-voluntary sentient beings is both revolting and..._

_More tests must be run before I do anything further. My contemporary in the Infinite City has urged caution in this uncharted country I have set foot in. In my heart I know she is right, but I am reminded of an Earthern tale that was told by First Queen Leryn; it was of a garden with a tree whose fruit contained the knowledge of the gods. Supposedly the first humans ate of it and gained self-awareness, but were cast out of a paradise because they traded innocence for the capacity for evil._

_Now, I may sound dramatic, but I feel my hunger for knowledge of the soul's nature is a similar appetite. Even in our peaceful and beautiful kingdom ruled by the fair Queen Weira and surrounded by my numerous works, the Chrysalis Project is-what was the Earthern saying Guardian Lin used? Ah, yes-the apple of my eye._

_Curious sayings they have on Earth. If I recall, wasn't the fruit in the garden story an apple? For such a scientific-minded world, they are surprisingly superstitious and contradictory; the pursuit of knowledge, the cornerstone of civilization, is inherently evil? Curious, indeed._

Entry 042, Inimini's Journals, "Chrysalis Project_"_

* * *

_It's so... so... so damn _bright.

Belantha thought this as she shielded her eyes from the Earth's sun which, whatever gods existed in this universe, had placed the thing too close to the planet. Or at least it felt like that was the case; Belantha had heard stories about Meridian during the reign of Queen Weira and how everything was glimmering and shining and honey fell from the sky, blah blah, yada yada yada, here's a coin for you, old-timer.

But standing in the woods outside of Heatherfield and seeing how different they were from the sickened and dying lands of her homeworld, Belantha wondered if maybe all the old-timers (i.e., anyone older than her) were actually right about the days before Phobos' reign.

The trees, the bushes, the grass... everything was so _green_. Green and bright. She had never seen anything like it before... maybe. Barely remembered twinges of memory fired in her brain and formed images not entirely dissimilar from this Earthern forest. And someone was there, lifting her many times her height with strong hands and they were laughing...

Belantha's throat began to tighten and for an instant she felt deceived, like some toxic agent had been inhaled from the atmosphere and was attacking her internally. Then her eyes began to water and she snarled out a laugh. _Aren't we the sentimental type? _she thought, clenching her fist so tightly it bit into her palm. She shook herself once to clear her head and focused on her assignment. According to the map Cedric provided the Keeper's residence was several miles away, but after the trek with Jeek, well, that would be no trouble at all.

Since the Guardians were partially responsible for mending the tears in the Veil that created the portals like some sort of temporal seamstresses, Belantha knew she had to get moving lest they encounter her. She wasn't familiar enough with Earthto pass as one of them yet and if Caleb was with them he might even recognize her from the time Phobos ordered her to kill him. It was likely he'd (incredibly) hold that against her.

Although Caleb was her only real failure, Belantha couldn't bring herself to hate him for it since he had given her one hell of a fight which, in Belantha's mind, was almost as good as laying with the handsome rebel. Plus, they both wanted Phobos dead; enemy of my enemy and all that. And that butt of his didn't hurt, either. At _all_.

Somehow in her hormonal cloud of lust Belantha pulled out her compass and found north, then checked the map and quickly plotted out her course. As intently as she studied the map, the assassin still picked up the faint sounds of human voices coming from her left.

Quickly stowing her navigational tools she silently sped off in the opposite direction as fast and silently as she could in her alien clothes, noting that the "sneakers" were aptly named. She couldn't be discovered this soon by anyone. Hells, for all she knew it could be the Guardians themselves.

* * *

By the time the girls and Caleb had arrived at the portal the smell of Jeek that had acquired during their hike had largely dissipated, only a hint of it remaining and be only strong enough to make Hay Lin sneeze slightly without realizing what made her do so; plus, she nearly knocked over Taranee with the resulting gust of wind and apologies for that was distracting enough. Had Blunk accompanied them as he usually did, the Passling would have alerted his human friends to his rival's scent and and the less smell of a young woman hidden underneath.

Thankfully for Belantha, "Will"'s dismissal of the creature earlier had all but guaranteed that Blunk would be steering clear of his human social circle for a good stretch of time, so the heroes were ignorant of any incursions into Earth's dimension. Caleb noted the smell withthe experience of any who dealt with Passlings on a regular basis, but couldn't distinguish Blunk's scent from any other of his people.

Taranee had mentioned Blunk was acting weird(er) at Will's apartment, running off when she and "Will" caught him in Will's bedroom. Caleb figured that meant the smuggler had taken something to sell it in Meridian and used this portal to go to their home world. It was a logical conclusion that also happened to be completely wrong.

"That's a portal," Will stated as she pointed toward the rift in reality. "To Meridian."

Caleb nodded, happy that the Keeper remembered such an important detail. "Let me go through first. We never know where this things open up into." He leaned forward and placed his face in the wormhole; the energy was nearly up to his ears when his head stopped violently. The rebel pulled away from the portal quickly and rubbed his forehead. "Ha... it's in a tree's roots. Watch your head."

"You see, girls?" Irma said. "Boys do have their uses!" The Guardians chuckled at that while Caleb began to take the supplies and Will's things through the portal.

Hay Lin gave Will a small hug. "You listen to Caleb, okay? He'll take good care of you."

"Okay," Will said as she rolled her eyes; she was an amnesiac, not a preschooler, but she understood where Hay Lin was coming from. Until her memory had mostly returned, she was at a terrible disadvantage and would need to rely on her friends and allies to stay safe.

"He'd _better_ take care of you," Irma said with a glance at the portal. "You let us know if he doesn't."

"Don't be like that, Irma!" Hay Lin scolded. "If Caleb says he'll do it, he'll do it!"

Irma held up her hands. "Hey, I'm just saying: the guy is insanely busy with his whole 'save-the-kingdom' routine. You stay on him, Will, if he's not sticking to his word."

"I-" Will was cut off by Caleb's return throught the portal.

"All clear on the other side," Caleb mentioned. "I recognize the forest and there's an entrance to the City not too far from it. We'll stow the supplies and I'll send someone for them when we arrive." He took Will's bag from a grateful Taranee and slung it easily over his shoulder before smirking at Will. "What have you got in this thing, shoes?"

"Oh, _very_ clever," Irma drawled, then imitated Caleb's gruff voice, "'_They're chicks, so they must have some stereotypical shoe fetish._' If that's all you learned on Earth..."

"'Fetish'? What's that? Never mind, it's getting late on Meridian and we need to be moving. Will? When you're ready." He gave the other girls a salute and that cocky smile of his as he ducked through the portal, leaving the Guardians alone. Irma mockingly saluted the portal back, still not forgiving Caleb for being a dick earlier. If all men were like this, hell, maybe she _should_ play for the home team. Darn infuriating, men.

"I promise," Will said to the girls, "to try and get my memory back as soon as possible."

"Don't try to rush yourself," Taranee said. "That might not be a good idea. Look, I did some research last night on amnesia-_don't give me that look, Lair_-anyway, memory is often triggered by stimulation, so I think you just need to experience lots of things to jog your recollection. Ask Caleb to tell you about what you've done in Meridian, have him show you familiar places, that sort of thing. Got it?"

Will nodded. "Okay, I'll do that." Taranee hugged her. "Wow, you guys are affectionate." The other girls chuckled at that.

"Me next!" Irma said cheerfully even as he throat went dry as sandpaper; she wasn't sure she was ready for such close contact with Will yet, but what else could she do? Will was going away for who knew how long and when friends went away for who knew how long you gave them a hug.

Resolving to not be awkward about it, Irma swooped in and scooped Will up off the ground and held her tightly to her; Will's scent still inexplicably carried the vague scent of chlorine and the more dominant scent of vanilla frosting that made her sweet-tooth-lined mouth water. "We'll come see you at the start of the weekend, I promise." She sat a bewildered Will down and smiled at her. "Give'em hell, Guardian!"

"I'll... I'll try. To, uh, give'em... _heck_." Will turned to Cornelia expectantly.

For a second Cornelia seemed uncertain of why Will was looking at her before she realized the other girl was waiting for her hug. The Earth Guardian froze, then quickly walked over to Will and patted her on her shoulder and smiled so wanely it actually unnerved the other girls; usually when Cornelia smiled, she looked like an advertisement for the Best Damn Toothpaste Ever. "Ummmm... stay safe!" Cornelia said with that creepy grin/grimace.

Will smiled back shakily and nodded. Suddenly eager to be away from Cornelia, she turned and approached the portal meekly, ducking her head to avoid the roots Caleb had helpfully pointed out, and brushed her fingers lightly against the pathway to Meridian.

In a another montage of memory flashes Will saw the numerous times she had utilized the portals to travel to Meridian, though she couldn't remember exactly why she made so many trips. Her first experience stuck out the most even though she hadn't actually travelled through the portal that appeared after their first (_disastrous_) practice. Caleb had leapt through the portal only to be snatched away by Cedric, the Guardians too unskilled to prevent his capture. Despite the dis-heartening image it felt good to remember more, Will thought, but she hoped the rest of her of her Guardian career was more... successful.

She turned and looked back at the others, her features barely visible against the glow of the portal. "Bye." And she pressed against the portal, everything going to blinding white in her eyes. The Heart of flashed as it intersected the plane of the portal and automatically cut off the loop of energy that maintained the pathway, causing it to collapse and fade from view.

The other four girls were left standing in an empty glade. They weren't sure why, but it was like something had changed. Maybe it was the absence of the portal's light that made everything seem... dimmer.

The light was gone, that was it. That felt right.

Sort of right.

* * *

One thing Will was glad she didn't remember: whether she was claustrophobic or not.

Going through the portal was easy enough, basically like going through a regular doorway with a barrier of static electricity inside the frame. Emerging on the other side, however, placed her in a veritable cage of tree roots that blocked her view. She froze as she hit the ground and crouched, the portal vanishing and leaving her alone in growing darkness.

"Caleb?" she called out hesitantly, the words seemingly smaller under the weight of the roots. "Caleb..."

"Up here!" Caleb's voice said from somewhere. His head appeared at the edge of the root cage and he smiled at her. "It's alright, there's no one around for miles." He extended a hand to help her up the slope that Will gripped tightly, the smooth skin of his fingers contrasting with the rough leather of his glove. When she was out of the tree she looked around at the forest in amazement; she was on another _planet_. The only thing stranger than that fact was how much it looked like Earth... at first.

It was the little things that were different-the shape of the leaves, the tint of the sky and most of all the smell of the air. The scent was... to Will it was like the atmosphere of Earth was empty compared to Meridian's own aroma of crushed flowers and peppermint. It was a sweet smell...

_Urgrrrrr..._

Will's eyes darted around the clearing for the source of the growl when Caleb laughed. "Hungry?" Will looked at him blankly. "Your stomach..."

"Oh! I, uh..."

"You didn't eat much at the _Dragon_." Caleb pointed out as he donned a familiar-looking coat; he had changed his entire outfit while Will had been saying her good-byes. Mrs. Lin had insisted that Will refrain from a large meal after she woke up on the grounds that the Keeper needed to take all things slowly, lest Will impair herself and/or puke on the _Dragon's_ floors. "Here." Caleb reached into one of their bags and pulled out some granola bars. "These should tide you over. Earth has some interesting food, but you sure like to put it in weird wrappings."

"Thanks." Will took the bars and and shoved all but one of them in her jacket's pockets. She tried not to tear into the bar as she ate it, mindful of Caleb watching her out of the corner of his eye. If Irma was worried about Caleb paying attention to her it seemed the Water Guardian's fears were groundless; Will unconsciously ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it out as she chewed.

Caleb slung her bag over his shoulder and shoved the supplies back under the roots of the tree with his boot; Will flushed a little when she realized that he was inches away from her undies. "Let's head for the entrance; it's a few hundred yards and there's an outpost there that can get us to the main camp quickly. We'll rest there tonight, then head for the camp in the morning." He looked at Will expectantly.

Will realized that he was waiting for her agreement; it made sense, she guessed, since she was supposed to be a leader. "Sure. Let's go." Caleb smiled at that, likely thinking that it was a sign that Will was getting back to normal; Will swallowed as she realized it couldn't be further from the truth, she was just acting tough. Then again, maybe she had been acting tough all along and no one had realized it; Will didn't remember that, either.

They started walking through the forest to the entrance, Caleb telling Will about some of the rebels that she had met and worked closely with. There was Caleb's friend Aldarn who Will immediately remembered was green and bald (Caleb laughed at this), Vathek the former spy who had helped Caleb and Will escape Phobos' dungeons (the word "key" was all that came to Will's mind for Vathek) and Caleb's father Julian, who Will and the Guardians had recently freed from an underwater mine (Will had a strange yet satisfying image of Cedric frozen in a ball of ice.)

"But I think the Mage is the one you need to see most," Caleb continued. "She knew Mage Inimini-the man who created the Shard," he explained at Will's blank look, "back before Phobos took power. They worked together doing all kinds of alchemy and stuff; if anyone would know what happened to you, it would be her."

"Mage..." Will got a memory-flash of a woman with pale skin and a scar around one eye with an ornate band around her head. "Yeah... she's a... a little..."

"Creepy?" Caleb said with a smile. "Yeah... when I was little I was terrified of her. Never understood why Father was always bringing me to see her, but she's a great ally of the resistance. She doesn't say much about herself, she might be one of the race that created the Infinite City, but... no one really knows."

"Do... do you think she can help me?" Will asked hesitantly.

Caleb shrugged. "She's our best bet. The only other person with a large knowledge of magic would be the good Prince." He threw a lopsided grin at Will. "Which is probably the only part of him that's 'large', if you get my meaning." Will didn't get his meaning and when Caleb realized this he chuckled weakly and looked away before flushing in embarrassment; the old Will would have gotten it and laughed, he reflected dismally.

They were within a hundred feet of the hidden entrance when Caleb recognized a familiar sound: the creak of a bow string being drawn to fire. He tensed before he realized who was supposed to be stationed at this entrance and warbled out the mating call of a Meridian song bird. A few long seconds later someone warbled back and he relaxed.

Will was looking at him like he had lost his mind when a cloaked figure dropped onto a branch overhead and said in a high-pitched voice, "Brought back a spoil from Earth, Boss? She's got some pretty hair, but I thought you perferred blondes?" Will started and drew instinctively closer to Caleb as she stared at the newcomer; the only thing visible of the girl was her sandal-clad feet.

"Afternoon, Nikkita," Caleb said. "And she's not a spoil, she's a Guardian. Will, this is Nikkita, one of the rebellion's best archers and the reason that Phobos rarely leaves the castle. Nikkita, Will is the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar."

The hooded figure gave an "Eep!" of dismay. "Oh, I'm sorry, milady! I meant no disrespect!" A long brown arm shot out from the cloak and pulled back the hood to show the face of a girl about Caleb's age; embarrassed hazel eyes nearly the same shade as Nikkita's tanned skin were widened at Will in apology and with a little fear. The archer dropped to the forest floor and bowed her head to Will, her cloak opening to reveal a surprisingly slim wardrobe of a short green skirt and matching top that seemed eerily familiar to Will with its one shoulder strap. "It's just that... I've never seen you before and you're supposed to be taller... uh, not that I'm _ordering_ you to be taller or anything 'cause no one orders a Guardian around..."

"Our best archer..." Caleb interjected with a smirk. "...and our worst public speaker."

"Hey!" Nikkita threw back her hood and exposed a messy black ponytail that resembled the mane of a stallion as it blew in the breeze. "Don't be mean! Just because you're in charge doesn't mean you can be all snide and... and..."

Nikkita reached into her cloak and withdrew a well-crafted snake-shaped shortbow with pulleys at the ends, which Will figured were used to propel the arrows faster and harder. As soon as the bow was out Nikkita quickly drew a small arrow from a small quiver attached to her right leg. In less than a second she had notched the arrow and pointed it at Caleb's... belt buckle. More or less. "Hey, Will, guess how I got so good with this bow? _Taking shots at desert snakes._"

Will laughed in amused horror while Caleb rolled his eyes and wondered why so many girls wanted to rattle his _gorkar_ lately. Or shoot it. "Very funny, Nikki. Could you please run ahead and have Marcus send someone to an old tree a mile in that direction? We've got some supplies from Earth stowed there."

"Oh, alright," Nikkita said as she stowed the bow back in her cloak; Caleb slumped a little in relief. "Do we have a mission? Are the other Guardians here? 'Cause I'm _sooooo_ bored. How about you, Will? You bored?"

"There's no mission," Caleb stated firmly. "The Inimini thing... it was a trap and..." He looked at Will who was staring at her feet. "Things got crazy and... we need some time to rest. Will's going to be staying with the rebellion a while to learn more about Meridian, that's all."

Will blinked in confusion, then remembered the cover story the others had given her as they entered the forest: _It would be better if people didn't know you lost your memory_, Taranee had said. _With the way things have been going, knowing that the Guardian leader is... _disabled_ would hurt the morale of the rebels. Just pretend that it's a fact-finding mission-slash-vacation, okay_?

Will trusted that her friends knew best, but the fact she was hiding that something was wrong with her made her feel... immaterial, like she didn't matter as much as the image she was supposed to present. When someone was hurt, they expected to be treated with some deference to their condition, but Will had to act like everything was normal and fine. _Again, just like when_...

_When... what?_

Nikkita nodded to Caleb. "Okay, I'm off. Ugh, Marcus will probably make me carry something, too. Making a delicate little thing like me do hard labor? He's such a monster!" Caleb raised an eyebrow. "Oh, fine, I'm gone. You two _behave_!" The archer chortled as she ran away from them and disappeared into the forest.

Caleb scratched his head sheepishly. "She's a little wild, but she's good in a pinch. C'mon, we're nearly there." They started moving in the direction Nikkita was heading and ten minutes later they found themselves next to a small hill with a ragged break in it. Nikkita was sittingontop of the hill with her back pressed to a small sapling; Will realized her ragged green-and-brown cloak made her look like a patch of the moss that every tree in the forest seemed to possess, effectively camouflaging her from view.

Nikkita waved to them, her small brown arm seemingly appearing from nowhere once it left her camouflage. Will started to wave back when a large man wearing a similar green cloak emerged from the break in the hill. His face was cragged with scars and he was incredibly muscular, able to carry the large war hammer laying across his shoulders easily. Despite the two feet of difference in their heights and maybe decades of life as well, the man bowed his head respectfully to Caleb who returned the gesture. "Sir, good to see you. Nikkita told us the Inimini mission didn't do as planned. Everyone make it out okay?"

"We're all fine," Caleb said, not even looking back at Will. "Did Nikki tell you about the supplies?"

"We're just heading out, Philipe, Juno and me. _And _Nikkita," Marcus added, shooting a hard glance at the archer; a small pink tongue appeared out of the green. "Make yourselves at home, we'll be back shortly." A young man with a scraggly brown beard armed with a sword and a woman of the same age hefting a short spear appeared behind Marcus. All three of the rebels bowed deeply to what Will initially thought was Caleb, then with a start she realized they were bowing to _her. _"By your leave, Guardian."

_By my _leave_? What does that mean? _"Uhhhh... of course?" The rebels took off at a brisk run through the forest, Nikkita leaping from branch to branch overhead and declaring, "I'm not carrying more than half my weight..." When they were out of sight Caleb gestured to Will to follow him and they entered the cave.

After a short trek through a small tunnel they emerged into a chamber thirty-foot wide and almost as tall. A small campfire was burning off to the side of a large hole in the floor that had a pole running through it from the ceiling. Light filtered in from the hill above through skylights that were shaped like old-fashioned wagon wheels. Sleeping pallets lay around the room at various points, the owners unknown except for one that had squiggly writing on the wall with an arrow pointed downwards at the pallet. When Will pointed out the writing to Caleb, the rebel leader rolled his eyes as he translated. "It says, 'Nikkita's! Don't Touch!' Honestly, she's worse than a child sometimes..."

Caleb dropped Will's bag and his pack, then pulled two sleeping bags out of them and placed them an empty stretch of ground next to Nikkita's reserved spot. "I'm going to rest my eyes," Caleb said. "Just for a bit."

Will noticed that he looked a little tired and thought it was from his carrying all that weight around Heatherfield; she couldn't have known that he'd also spent most of the previous night laying awake as she slept fitfully in his bed, monitoring her condition in between catnaps. "Okay. Maybe I'll rest mine, too." Will was actually weary herself despite all the time she had been unconscious; she supposed that was the difference between a long sleep and a good sleep.

"You were tossing and turning a lot last night," Caleb informed her as they lay down on their sleeping bag. "We won't be leaving til morning when the guard changes at this outpost. Guess that means we'll have to put up with Nikkita all the way to headquarters." Will chuckled at his exaggerated groan. "G'Night."

"Good night," Will replied to the rebel, who was already half asleep by the time she said it. The Keeper propped her head up on her balled-up jacket and studied Caleb's face more intently than she'd ever bothered with a school assignment. Things were not good, she knew, and she was taking that very seriously. Really.

But with Caleb watching over her and treating her so sweetly, things couldn't be _that_ not good, right?

* * *

After the girls had seen Will off they traversed the woods back to Heatherfield proper and went their separate ways; Irma and Hay Lin back to their homes, Taranee to the bookstore and Cornelia to her figure skating practice.

Their minds blanked out the rest of their lives (specifically the Guardian part) as they went about their routines. Occasionally, they would experience a twinge of remembrance, like Cornelia falling on the rink and briefly remembering their escape from the Heart on the ice slide, or Hay Lin's still weakened stomach rumbling at dinner as her mother commenting that she wasn't eating very much. But for the most part, life went on.

It always does. And it always comes back around to you, like Cornelia's graceful spins and the spirals Irma doodled as she listened to Karmilla's newest single, like Hay Lin twirling her chopstick in her rice or Taranee wrapping her braid around her index finger as she read _Popular Science_. Each of the Guardians were caught in a circle they were barely aware of, the beginning and end equally lost to sight.

For Susan Vandom it felt like daily life had come around again to her daughter. As they ate their microwaved dinners in their kitchen Susan was studying"Will" as intently as Will was studying Caleb in another dimension; whereas Will was impressed with Caleb her mother was more concerned with her Astral Drop. Actually, she was very impressed with "Will" as well, and that was part of the problem.

When Will usually ate in front of her mother, she tended to forget to wipe her mouth or ate too fast or ignored her vegetables until the last possible moment; Susan felt like a referee trying to keep Will from going out of bounds or commiting a penalty for table manners. That was how it was on most nights.

But not tonight. The first thing "Will" did was finish off her string peas and then carefully ran her napkin over her mouth. Then she started on her corn, carefully scooping it up into her spoon and bringing it to her mouth; then the napkin. She used her fork on her chicken breast(?!) to pick the meat off as carefully as she could before eating it. Again, the napkin.

Susan waited until they were both finished chewing before asking, "So, how's school going this week?"

"Will" shrugged and lied perfectly. "Okay. I think I can do better next week. Pass the salt, please."

Susan blinked. "Oh, sure, baby." She passed the salt shaker, feeling extremely strange in doing such a simple task; how many times had she reprimanded Will for reaching across the table for condiments? Usually, Will was all over the table and shoving food into her mouth like a starved animal, yet almost over-night she had acquired the etiquette of royalty.

She sure hadn't learned it from Susan, who had restricted her instructions to "use your fork" or "use your napkin"; maybe all that time at the _Silver Dragon _had been a learning experience for Will, though Susan somehow doubted that Yan Lin cared too much for table manners. Susan debated complimenting Will on her restraint, then decided it was better to not mention it, though she wasn't sure why she wouldn't want to draw attention to it. Different topic, then. What to say, what to say, what to... "Oh! One of my co-workers is getting married next week and I'm invited. Do you want to come along? It's going to have this beautiful reception and of course there's the wedding cake..."

"No thanks," "Will" said. "I don't know if I could keep a straight face during it, it's so corny."

Susan dropped her fork in surprise. "W-what do you mean? I thought you liked weddings?"

"I did," "Will" said, "When I was a _kid._ I betcha they'll be divorced in a few years, anyway. It's all so stupid."

Susan stared in shock at her daughter. "Will... where's this coming from?" Dumb question, Susan knew. "I know your father and mine's marriage didn't work out, but that doesn't mean the whole institution is hopeless. Look at your friends' parents; they all seem to have good marriages."

"Yeah, but I think it's because one of them is the boss," "Will" said. "Like Irma's mother is the housewife and so is Cornelia's. Taranee's mom wears the pants in her family, no doubt, so it looks like marriage works if someone has to be a follower. No way I could do that, not for anybody."

Susan had never felt so torn about her daughter in her life. On one hand she applauded Will's independence. On the other hand... "Will, a marriage works because of compromises; mine failed because your father began to make decisions without me, important decisions that ended up causing us serious problems. I think you can learn from that, but I'm sure you'll meet a good man one day. Aren't you always talking about that Jimmy boy... Matt, I mean?"

"Will" shrugged. "Yeah, but what if he turns out to be like that? Trying to control me and everything? Maybe it's better to just focus on other stuff than boys, they're hardly worth it."

Okay, now _that_ was worrisome. Not the restraining from dating part so much, but..."Honey, you can't judge someone by their gender. You may not remember your grandfather much, but he was a good man and always thinking of others. You're always telling me that Caleb is real nice..."

"Will" made a swirling motion with her finger beside her ear. "Yeah, but he's got so many issues. He's not dangerous or anything," she reassured Susan, "but he doesn't know how to act around girls. People are just so unreliable; I guess that's just the way it is. Except you, Mom. You're the only person I trust completely."

Susan continued staring at Will, not knowing what to say or think. "Um, of course you can trust me, sweetie. But that doesn't mean I'm the _only_ one you can trust. You're still new here and your friends haven't been with you very long, so that's understandable. I think they're good people, however; before long I know you'll be able to trust them completely."

"I guess," "Will" said as she finished her plate. "But after Fadden Hills, I'm not getting my hopes up. Every thing's got to end sometime, right? Can I be excused? _Degrassi _is on right now."

"Um, sure, honey." Susan watched "Will" as she left the kitchen, wondering if she should relieved or worried about her daughter's pessimistic views. It was one thing to be cautious, but even someone Susan's age could afford to dream a little. It sounded like her daughter was convinced that nothing good ever lasted in life.

What really worried Susan was that she had no real argument against that. At least she trusted her mother and that made Susan feel a little good about this new attitude. Special.

Oh, well, maybe Will would grow out of her pessimism, being a teenage and all. All in all, this new Will didn't seem so bad, maybe a little better than the old one...

Susan's breath caught in her throat and she coughed, a sharp pain in her chest that caused her to panic for second before it was passed. _Must have been something I swallowed wrong_, Susan though, not realizing she hadn't eaten anything in the past few minutes.

On the other side of the kitchen wall, "Will" had her forehead against the wall and permitted herself a small smile. That had been even easier than she had hoped it would be.

"Don't worry, 'Mom'," she whispered to Susan, who could not hear her through the wall. "I"m here to stay, once I have enough 'permissions.'" "Will" turned and headed for the living room, wondering if the show she was about to watch would prove inspirational for winning over the others before she dismissed the thought. _How can they not want me over _her_, I'm an improvement in every way. You did good work, Mage Inimini_. _Really good work... good_...

"Will" couldn't help but chuckle at the last thought; it was just too funny.

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Author's Note/Advertisement: This chapter was brought to you in part by the Best Damn Toothpaste Ever! Recommended by ten out of ten dentists for cavities, tooth decay, gingivitis, mild cases of stupidity and lots of other stuff because, well, it's the Best Damn Toothpaste Ever, dammit!

It's been a good while since I updated and part of that was the dinner conversation with "Will" and Susan. Maybe it will make more sense as the story goes on. Big love to strayphoenix for beta-ing the chapter for me and giving me the confidence to post again; everybody thank stray and give her a hug when you see her. DGW is so different from the other stories I write for reasons I can't specify; it's certainly darker and I have to get in to a certain mind set to write for it.

_Gorkar_ is Meridian for... belt buckle. More or less.

The Inimini Entries are inspired by the Ansem Reports in the Kingdom Hearts games; if you've played the games you probably noticed a few similarities. As much time (and Heartless) as I've killed on them they were bound to influence me eventually. The entry number 42 is a reference to the Answer to Everything in the Douglas Adams books (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, etc.) because Inimini is looking for just that. Inimini's name (pronounced ee-nim-mee-ni) is a symmetrical merging of the word "mini."

"Will" wants to watch _Degrassi_ because it is one of the most depressing shows this author has ever seen, albeit one of the best after-school specials you could hope for. Even Kevin Smith likes it, so I'm hardly bashing it; I'd rather watch something cheerier, like _Law & Order: SVU_.

Marcus is inspired by Marcus Fenix from the Gears of War video games, of which I'm a devotee. He does have a back-story of his own, of course, which we'll see next chapter.

Nikkita is Chi Yagami's OC contribution and two more lovely ladies from strayphoenix will be appearing in the next chapter. Far from being one-trick ponies, these characters will be integrated into the storyline. There's still time in the next few chapters to put in your custom-made rebel so don't be shy, PM me with your freedom fighter descriptions! Oh, and Chi? You might want to come pick up Nikkita soon, she and Belantha are...

**Nikkita**: Take that, assassin!

**Belantha**: You couldn't hit the broad side of a mother mudslug!

Ladies, ladies! No arrows or throwing knives in the house! Oh, man, I gotta get them out of here before...

**Valin: **Hey! Mama stray said I could come over to play! Where's the ice cream?!

OC's... and I thought real women were trouble enough...

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